Good news for Man Utd? Winners and losers as Spurs get Arsenal revenge

Tottenham Hotspur are through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup thanks to a 2-0 win over Arsenal.

Spurs took the lead after 20 minutes after Son Heung-min beat Arsenal’s offside trap and Dele Alli doubled the advantage on the hour mark.

That would be enough for Spurs to avenge their Premier League defeat to weeks earlier and keep Mauricio Pochettino’s hopes of a trophy alive.

But who were the winners and losers?

Winner: Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino may be being linked with a move away from Tottenham at the end of the season, but for now he has a first trophy in his sights.

Spurs are now just two games away from the Carabao Cup final and three wins from their first trophy since 2008 – also the League Cup. In the past, Pochettino has been criticised for taking cup competitions lightly when a trophy would have boosted his CV and shown his true abilities as a manager.

Should Spurs go all the way and win the League Cup, Pochettino would get the trophy so many require of him, but also the perfect excuse to leave for United in the summer.

Bowing out with glory, Pochettino could close his very impressive spell at Tottenham to move on to a bigger challenge at Old Trafford and rebuild the 20-time English champions.

Loser: Mesut Ozil

Where does Mesut Ozil fit in Unai Emery’s plan? Nowhere, for a big game against arch rivals Tottenham apparently.

After missing the Premier League North London derby just two weeks ago, apparently due to injury, Ozil was expected to play at least some part as Arsenal looked to secure a second successive Carabao Cup semi-final place.

But the German was nowhere to be seen among the matchday 18, with Emery revealing the decision was tactical. Ahead of Ozil in the starting XI was Aaron Ramsey with 19-year-old Joe Willock and Mohamed Elneny the midfields option on the bench.

Ozil was good enough for Emery to start against Qarabag in the Europa League, but not against Southampton as he only came on as a subsitute.

That Emery did not deem Ozil vital enough for a place even on the bench, to change the game against Spurs should he need it, speaks levels of how little the Spaniard may trust his highest-earning player.

Winner: Son Heung-min

Some Tottenham fans may have worried to see Harry Kane starting from the bench on Wednesday with no recognised striker in the XI.

5 – Son Heung-Min has been directly involved in five of Spurs' last eight goals in the League Cup (three goals, two assists). Factor.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 19, 2018

But Son Heung-min once again showed he is capable of being the man for Tottenham, giving the away side the lead after 20 minutes.

Beating the offside trap beautifully, lining up with Sokratis’ back foot, Son showed the composure Henrikh Mkhitaryan lacked just moments before, coolly finishing past Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.

The goal was Son’s first in a North London Derby but also showed his importance to Tottenham’s League Cup run. Of Spurs’ last eight goals in the League Cup, Son has been involved in five with three goals and two assists.

Loser: Henrikh Mkhitaryan

In games like the North London Derby, dominance needs to count and chances have to be taken or risk being punished. This is exactly what happened for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the first half against Spurs on Wednesday night.

Arsenal had started brightly, having some of the better opportunities in the opening exchanges. The best fell to Mkhitaryan after good link up play with Ramsey opened up the Spurs defence.

But, when one on one with the goalkeeper, Mkhitaryan’s shot was too easy for Gazzaniga when he really should have been given no chance.

Eight minutes later, Spurs were ahead and Mkhitaryan lasted only until half-time before being taken off for Laurent Koscielny.

Winner: Paulo Gazzaniga

Last season, Paulo Gazzaniga made just one appearance for Tottenham, remaining behind Michel Vorm as the club’s third choice goalkeeper.

But this season Gazzaniga has seen himself trusted more than Vorm to deputise for Hugo Lloris when the Frenchman is injured or rested.

And the Argentine had another good showing on Wednesday night, helping Tottenham reach the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Gazzaniga made a number of impressive saves throughout the game, including denying Henrikh Mkhitaryan early on when the Armenian was one-on-one. There was also an Aaron Ramsey effort tipped onto the post with Arsenal looking for an equaliser.

It wasn’t all positive, as Gazzaniga’s distribution was poor at times – not including the parts he played in Spurs’ two goals – and the goalkeeper was fortunate not to see complacency punished.

But he managed to keep a clean sheet and help Spurs through, further cementing his place as Tottenham’s no.2.

Loser: Arsenal’s defence

There is something in the water at the Emirates and it’s downing all Arsenal’s defenders.

Going into the game, Unai Emery was without Hector Bellerin, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Rob Holding and Sead Kolasinac with Laurent Koscielny only just returning from injury but just fit enough for the bench.

Lining up with a back five, Emery had to opt for Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right wing-back with the youngster having done well last season on the left. The 21-year-old had an okay game, for someone playing out of position but would have struck fear into his manager’s eyes late on.

With 10 minutes to go Maitland-Niles went down calling for treatment and looked unable to go on. Fortunately for the Gunners, it appeared to only be cramp and the wing-back was able to play on.

But it was a scare Arsenal really cannot afford heading into the festive fixture list when the games come thick and fast – not the best time to have limited options in defence.

The post Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham: winners and losers as Spurs get North London Derby revenge appeared first on Squawka News.

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