Arsene Wenger praises surprise hero following Arsenal’s victory over Tottenham

Mathieu Flamini believed that he had proven a point after scoring two goals – for the first time in his career – in the 2-1 Capital One Cup win at Tottenham Hotspur.

Mathieu Flamini gave the visitors the lead before Chambers put the ball into his own net shortly after the break to level the scores.

Nacer Chadli of Spurs shoots and gets a deflection off Calum Chambers, unseen, for an own goal equaliser on Wednesday night during their League Cup match at White Hart Lane.

Flamini was hardly prolific before his double – he had hit the net just 19 times before last night – and the former AC Milan man reckons he proved his doubters wrong.

“In general the performance was very good and I am happy with the effort from my players, but both goals we conceded were a bit lucky maybe”, Pochettino said.

For the 10th consecutive year a Premier League team eliminated Tottenham from the Capital Cup, as Arsenal defeated them 2-1.

Wenger’s counterpart Mauricio Pochettino is also expected to name a strong team for the match, though whether he starts with new star striker Son Heung-min remains to be seen. “I told him he might have to wait for an opportunity”, Wenger said. Arsenal have found a way to play and they should stick to that no matter what.

Pressed on his selection decisions after the defeat, Tottenham’s manager sought to defend his under-fire countryman.

However, Wenger chose to start Flamini against Spurs, and the Frenchman proved his worth with two goals to send their North London rivals crashing out of the competition. No matter where you are, or who you play, at you have to be respectful of your surroundings and no rivalry should amount to this.

A sixth game without a win would only have increased the pressure on the under-fire Rodgers, on the back of a rising tide of resentment from the Anfield faithful. There are always mistakes in football. “Hopefully, we can take this into the next game”.