Second-half goals from Dele Alli and Harry Kane have earned Tottenham Hotspur a deserved 2-0 victory over Arsenal in the North London derby.
Both efforts came within a three-minute period and they proved enough to ensure that Spurs maintained their four-point deficit behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Arsenal had their moments at White Hart Lane, but they were thoroughly outclassed and outfought by their fierce rivals who confirmed that they would finish above the Gunners in the standings for the first time in 22 years.
Less than a minute had been played when Kane created the first chance of the match, but his low effort from an acute angle was well dealt with by Petr Cech.
Toby Alderweireld headed off target from a corner as Spurs dominated the opening exchanges, but they wasted two clear openings to take the lead midway through the first half.
After meeting a deflected cross from Kane, Alli somehow headed wide from just three yards out, before Christian Eriksen volleyed over from six yards out with the goal seemingly at his mercy.
However, while Arsenal were second best throughout the opening period, they ended the half on top as Aaron Ramsey saw his curling effort parried behind by Hugo Lloris.
Alexis Sanchez remained on the periphery of the game but just before the break, he curled a shot marginally wide of the far post from an acute angle.
Despite allowing Arsenal to build some momentum, Spurs created the final opening before the break as Jan Vertonghen saw a 20-yard strike with his weaker right foot tipped behind by Cech.
Both teams returned for the second half intent on pushing for an opening goal, with Victor Wanyama seeing a long-range effort tipped over by Cech and Olivier Giroud volleying over for Arsenal.
However, it was not long before Spurs went ahead through Alli, who was on hand to net the rebound from Eriksen's shot after a mazy run had been blocked by Cech.
A couple of minutes later, Kane doubled Tottenham's lead from the penalty spot after he had been felled by Gabriel Paulista inside the area, with his strike from 12 yards leaving Cech with no chance as he found the bottom corner.
To Arsenal's credit, they initially responded well to falling two goals behind with Sanchez getting a shot away inside the penalty area, but it soon became a case of whether Spurs would add to their advantage.
Vertonghen was unfortunate not to find the top corner with an excellent effort from outside the penalty area, with Cech tipping the ball over, before the Arsenal stopper made important interventions to deny Kane from eight yards and Toby Alderweireld's powerful header.
Theo Walcott wasted a late opening for the visitors and it all but confirmed that Spurs would be able to comfortably see out their 13th successive league success in front of their own supporters.
As for Arsenal, they are now six points adrift of fourth place, despite Manchester City and Manchester United only recording draws with Middlesbrough and Swansea City respectively earlier on Sunday afternoon.
Darren Plant
