Southampton do Arsenal favor with 2-1 win over Tottenham

Southampton have beaten Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, in what is a major boost for Arsenal.

Steven Davis scored twice after Son Heung-min netted the opener, lifting the Saints to sixth in the Premier League.

The defeat leaves the Gunners in with a chance of finishing above their London rivals; victory over Manchester City this evening would put them level with Spurs on 70 points.

Spurs had a sublime opportunity to open the scoring, with Fraser Forster forced into making a world class stop to deny Christian Eriksen from close range, after only six minutes being played.Danny Rose found the Denmark international in the box, but Forster quickly got down low, getting a strong hand to stop his effort.

And it was Spurs who went on to draw first blood.

Son, with 16 minutes on the clock, got the ball rolling for the first of the game, a goal to leave Ronald Koeman frustrated by his defence.

Erik Lamela initially attempted to play in the offside Harry Kane, but Son refused to give up the chance, taking advantage of Forster’s uncertainty, beating Virgil Van Dijk and Jose Fonte, before slotting the ball home into an empty net.

image: http://ghanamma.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/son.jpg

Their lead lasted just 15 minutes, though, with Saints captain Steven Davis drawing his side level.

In what has rarely been said this season, Tottenham’s defence went missing, leaving Hugo Lloris exposed. Having been played in by Cuco Martina, Dušan Tadić slid a low cross to Davis and the midfielder somehow managed to squeeze the ball under Lloris to make it 1-1 in the 31st minute.

Harry Kane squandered an excellent chance in added time of the first half to send his team into the dressing room a goal up. The England international outmuscled Fonte, but rather than pull the back, chose to go alone, firing his effort straight at Forster.

The second half was more of the same, as both sides looked dangerous – more through poor defensive showings than their creative abilities.

There were, however, few notable chances to speak of, with a water break allowed by the officials in the 70th minute the most notable incident.

image: http://ghanamma.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/gettyimages-529103926.jpg

The pause in play, though, did have an impact on proceedings, as only seconds later the Saints took the lead to leave Mauricio Pochettino’s men needing two goals to secure second place in the league.

Davis was again the difference for the visitors, creating space for himself on the edge of the box before curling his effort out of Lloris’ reach, low into the right corner in the 72nd minute.

Spurs failed to stage a comeback for the remaining time, in a sluggish performance from the north London outfit, with the absence of Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli certainly having an effect on their display.

Source: Talksport