Tottenham Hotspur hand Arsenal major title boost as Dominic Solanke scores stunning scorpion kick

Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League title have been hugely boosted by their bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were booed off at half time and were 2-0 down to Manchester City, which would have cut the gap at the top to four points.

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But in the second half, Dominic Solanke helped salvage a point for Spurs and leave the Gunners six clear at the top of the table.

The equaliser was a contender for Goal of the Season as Solanke produced an incredible scorpion kick to flick the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s head.

Arsenal responded from their shock 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium last week with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Leeds United.

That put the pressure on Man City and Aston Villa to keep up the chase.

Villa failed to beat ten-man Brentford at home, losing 1-0 to the Bees.

And it looked as if things were going to be rosy for Man City as Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo had them 2-0 up at half time.

Thomas Frank‘s men offered nothing in the opening 45 minutes and things looked to be only going one way.

But Spurs and Solanke had other ideas.

Moving day

The Premier League title race had looked to be blown wide open by Man United’s win over the Gunners.

But Man City have won just one of their last six in the Premier League, and Arsenal have Spurs to thank for allowing them to extend their lead.

With Villa losing as well, this feels like a huge day in the context of the title race.

Pep Guardiola has spent a lot of money in the space of the last year, and it’s not really happened for them.

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How did the game unfold?

The feeling around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of kick-off was one of apathy that quickly turned to anger.

Spurs offered nothing in the attacking third and didn’t defend properly either.

The first goal came from Yves Bissouma being robbed by Bernardo Silva in midfield.

Erling Haaland worked the ball into Rayan Cherki, and with Cristian Romero and Radu Dragusin allowing the Frenchman to advance, he drove in a right-footed shot that flashed into the back of the net.

The lead was doubled via Semenyo.

Dragusin drove a long pass to no one that Rodri brought down.

There was no one near him as he slipped a pass into Silva.

Again, he was unmarked, and the midfielder fed Semenyo, who slammed the ball into the top corner from 12 yards.

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At half time, Spurs were loudly booed off, and the second 45 minutes started with Romero being taken off.

It’s unclear why the Argentine went off, but it could be yet another injury for Spurs.

But whatever Frank said at half time worked a treat because Tottenham were a totally different team.

They were aggressive and relentless and grabbed a goal through Solanke’s shot deflecting in off Marc Guehi on 53 minutes.

It was a total mess from Man City, and there was a check for a foul by Solanke on Guehi as the striker appeared to kick through the Man City defender.

There was nothing fortunate about the equaliser with Solanke expertly guiding the ball over Gianluigi Donnarumma as he connected with a cross from the right with his heel.

It was a moment of pure class from Solanke, following great play from Conor Gallagher.

The new Spurs star won a 50/50 and advanced down the right before whipping a cross into the box.

It was slightly behind Solanke, but he expertly produced a scorpion kick to win a point for Spurs.

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Solanke the hero

Solanke has endured injury hell this season, but his two goals will make him a very popular man on the red side of north London.

And after the game, he spoke to Sky Sports about the battling second-half display.

He said: “It was a game of two halves. The first half was difficult. We couldn’t get near them at times, but the second half was a different story.

“We were great, and we grew with confidence and could have gone on to win it.

“We know we need to start games quicker, but the reaction was great.

“There were a few tactical tweaks at half time, but we had to come out and show fight and belief, and that is what we did.”