Arsenal defeated local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday evening after finding an unlikely hero in Mathieu Flamini.
The French midfielder—who had appeared to be on his way out of the club due to a lack of first-team opportunities—was given the chance to shine and wholly made the most of a rare start.
Flamini opened the scoring on 26 minutes with a fine strike that one might not have expected from a largely one-dimensional defensive midfielder!
After a flat first half, Spurs came out of the blocks in the second period. Clearly inspired by Mauricio Pochettino’s words at the break, they took only 11 minutes to score, with Calum Chambers deflecting the ball past David Ospina after pressure from Nacer Chadli.
For much of the second period, the Lilywhites looked more likely to secure the triumph, but Wenger’s decision to replace Joel Campbell with Alexis Sanchez arguably turned the tide.
12 minutes after his introduction, Arsenal had retaken the lead.
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The goal came through Mathieu Flamini, who secured the victory with a magical 78th-minute volley that Lionel Messi would have been proud of!
The result will come as a major fillip to Arsenal, who have been on a poor run of form, while Spurs may have to go back to the drawing board after a handful of encouraging showings.
Tottenham Arsenal Highlights from White Hart Lane.