Throwback Thursday | Harry Kane turns messiah for Tottenham after dream North London derby brace

It’s the 7th of February 2015 and it’s a full-capacity crowd at White Hart Lane although few would expect anything less on a day like this. This is the North London derby, after all, arguably one of English football’s biggest and maybe even amongst the biggest in the world. It certainly is London’s biggest and most marketable especially since it has always provided us with magical moments. 35, 659 people sitting, waiting and wondering as the game enters its final moments.

Time has now stopped but before we dive into the climax and reach the end, let’s roll it back and figure out how we got here in the first place. Because as luck would have it, nobody on this planet ever expected Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham to put up any semblance of a fight but that’s exactly what happened.

But intelligent moves in the summer combined with some excellent man-management and tactical input saw Tottenham fly up the table and within two points of their eternal rivals in Arsenal. It would have meant that a win in the North London derby would have pushed them about the Gunners with the hope of bringing St Totteringham’s day to an end after eighteen long years. And they walked into the game as the better side, having taken 22 points from a possible of 27 up to that point.

Arsenal, on the other hand, were revelling in what was their best summer transfer window for quite some time as Arsene Wenger opened up his check-book and splurged on everyone possible. It was, at the time, the most expensive transfer window in the club’s football history with them spending a grand total of €119 million on seven players. That’s a list that included former Barcelona man Alexis Sanchez, Manchester United’s greatest prospect in Danny Welbeck and a few others.

But even with top scorer Alexis Sanchez injured, Arsenal were looking to keep Tottenham’s winless North London derby run intact. Mauricio Pochettino’s side had not won a derby against their local rivals since March of 2013 which had many fans wondering, despite their side’s run of form, as to whether this rag-tag group could really end that. This was of-course, nothing compared to the ten-year league drought against Arsenal that Spurs fans had to endure as Arsene Wenger’s men ruled North London with an iron-fist.

Not only that, it includes two braces in the league with a match-defining performance against Chelsea, where Kane scored twice and assisted two more, and his form continued. It gave Arsenal a real headache although without their top scorer the Gunners struggled to make a genuine impact. The hosts dominated the opening half but beyond a routine stop from David Ospina, five minutes into the half, which saw the Colombian get injured.

However, while Ospina was fine to continue, Spurs apparently weren’t as they continued to poke and prod the Arsenal back-line but to no avail. But then came the breakthrough, as against the run of play, the away side somehow managed to find the net. It was a marvellous finish from Mesut Ozil after Danny Welbeck beat fellow Danny Rose with pure pace, teed up Giroud for the shot but the Frenchman, either through sheer luck or a moment of magic, found Ozil at the far post.

It was a deserved equaliser about ten minutes into the second half, as Spurs continued to pile on the pressure and cause Arsenal real problems. But the leveller came from a mistake after a corner, a typical Arsenal mistake after Ospina stretched to keep a Dembele header out but the save landed at Kane’s feet and he tapped it home. Things from there would only go from bad to worse for Arsenal as Spurs continued piling on the pressure although the Gunners were a threat on the break.

Danny Welbeck continued to cause more and more problems with his pace but he was the only one doing anything, as the Englishman tried to test Hugo Lloris from long-range. But the Frenchman was more than up for the challenge as the game ticked into its final moments and Spurs continued to pile on the pressure. Arsenal already had their backs to the wall and were now looking for nothing more than to see out the game when Danny Rose came flying down the wing.

Spurs were playing as if they were 3-1 down and needed two goals in the final few minutes to save themselves from getting relegated and that shocked many in red. The stadium loved that though as Danny Rose picked up the ball and looked to get the game underway again. He had options, with Eriksen jogging towards him and Nacer Chadli standing on his right, close to the corner flag. But with three Arsenal men surrounding them, Rose had to look beyond that.

Ryan Mason was about 15 yards to his left but Olivier Giroud was marking him and within enough space to poke the ball clear if he had to. The crowd at White Hart Lane begins to buzz because they know that with time ticking down, a late goal here could be the nail in the coffin. It could mean the end of St Totteringham’s day for the first time in eighteen years. Eighteen long years and all it would take was a goal as Danny Rose continued to look for options.