Tottenham refused to let their Europa League win pass without appearing to aim a subtle dig at rivals Arsenal.
Spurs cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Qarabag in their first European fixture of the season despite playing the majority of the match with ten men following Radu Dragusin’s dismissal.
Tottenham beat Qarabag 3-0 on Thursday night – despite going down to ten men
The Romanian defender was sent off after just seven minutes, as he was shown a straight red card for hauling down forward Juninho as he raced towards goal after dispossessing him.
But the early setback did little to hamper Ange Postecoglou‘s side, as Brennan Johnson put them ahead just five minutes later.
Pape Mate Sarr then put Spurs in the driving seat when he volleyed home early in the second half, before Dominic Solanke wrapped up the win with his first goal in Europe on 68 minutes.
And Spurs’ social media team wasting no time in marking the win by appearing to aim a cheeky jibe at north London rivals Arsenal.
The Gunners were also reduced to ten men in their last league match, a 2-2 draw away to Manchester City, with many commenting on their decision to sit back ollowing Leandro Trossard’s red card in an attempt to defend their lead, before the champions grabbed a late equaliser.
Tottenham seemed keen to draw a comparison between the two side’s hugely different performances, as they uploaded a graphic in a social media post outlining their dominance against Qarabag.
Alongside the statistics, which highlighted their 469 passes and ten attempts on goal, the club wrote: “10 men and we never stopped playing our football.”
It did not take long for the supposed dig to have the desired effect, with plenty of fans flocking to the comments section.
One amused user wrote: “Admin just cooked Arsenal football club.”
Arsenal supporters were certainly less than impressed however, and who reminded their rivals’ admin of recent results between the two sides, with Spurs’ last derby victory coming in May 2022.
GettySolanke scored his first European goal in Spurs’ win over Qarabag[/caption]
Dragusin was sent off after just seven minutes in the Europa League clashGetty
While Spurs attacked throughout against Qarabag, Arsenal put everyone behind the ball following Trossard’s red card at CityGetty
Alongside a picture of the Gunners’ latest 1-0 final score against Spurs, a fan wrote: “Thanks for the three points though.”
A more incensed fan replied: “What a shameless thing to tweet on the official account. It’s even worse cos we’ve beaten this f****** 3 consecutive times at their ground.”
And it wasn’t just on social media where those connected with Tottenham took aim at Arsenal by comparing the two performances.
talkSPORT co-host and former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara was also keen to hail his old club’s performance by taking a swipe at Mikel Arteta‘s side.
Speaking on The Sports Bar alongside Jason Cundy after the 3-0 victory, O’Hara said: “We’ve shown tonight how to do it with ten men. You know, Arsenal should have a look at us.
“They [Spurs] said, ‘Look at us Arsenal, this is how you do it!’
“You go down to ten and you still get a result. 3-0, still playing attacking football, still pressing, having a high line.”
Pointing to how the Gunners were unable to successfully defend their lead against City, he went on: “That’s how you do it, Arsenal. You tried it, you sat off, and you lost.”
Former Chelsea defender Cundy then reminded his co-host of Spurs’ attempts at defending a lead with nine men last term against the Blues, which ended in a 4-1 loss.
He quipped: “What did you do against Chelsea when you didn’t win?”
O’Hara claimed Spurs delivered the superior performance to their north London rivals after Dragusin’s sending offtalkSPORT
O’Hara quickly fired bac: “That was last season. Doesn’t count, mate.
“It only matters now, doesn’t it? So, we’ve shown tonight that you can do it with ten men.”
