Dele Alli Claims Bottle Attack Made Spurs North London Derby Win Over Arsenal Even Sweeter

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has shrugged off the bottle-throwing incident that occurred following his goal against Arsenal at the Emirates in the EFL Cup quarter final. 

Alli was instrumental throughout, providing Son Heung-min with an assist for the opener, before settling the tie with a goal of his own - the deftest of dinks over a helpless Petr Cech.

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It was in the aftermath of this moment that the bottle was thrown, to which the 22-year-old responded with a 2-0 gesture with his figures in reference to the score. 

And, when he was asked about it by ​Sky Sports after the match, ​Dele declared: "It is what it is. It made the goal a little bit sweeter – and the win."

He was quick to gloss over the issue, instead choosing to speak about the game itself: "When we came here last time we didn't get the result we wanted so we knew how important it was. We wanted to go into the semi-finals. It was a big test for us and I think it was a strong performance in the end.

 "We knew how important it was to get the second goal. They're a good team and can create chances at any moment so one goal sometimes isn't enough.

"I knew ​Harry [Kane] was going to play the ball so all I had to do was time the run and finish it off."

Mauricio Pochettino, however, was less enthused, stating: “We are lucky it was not a big issue. For me, we hate each other in a good way, but that is in a bad way when you want to damage people, or an opponent.

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur - Carabao Cup: Quarter Final

“Only one stupid person made a mistake. I respect Arsenal fans. For one, you cannot talk about everyone. I hope Arsenal can take some responsibility for the people through the camera and identify [the fan].

“It was not a problem [for Alli] but it can be a big issue and then how do we fix it? I think Arsenal will take responsibility to identify the people.”

It has now been confirmed that the Metropolitan Police have opened an investigation into the incident. It came off the back of the banana that was thrown at ​Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang by a ​Tottenham fan in the league fixture at the beginning of December.


Source : 90min