Dele Alli Stars as Tottenham Hotspur Knock Arsenal out of EFL Cup

Tottenham Hotspur booked their spot in the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Carabao Cup, beating rivals Arsenal 2-0 in the latest edition of the north London derby. Dele Alli scored and assisted in the win.

The Gunners had their chances to take the lead and would rue their wastefulness when Son Heung-min finished off a simple move to give the visitors the lead. Alli doubled the advantage in the second half.

It marked the second meeting of the season between the fierce rivals, with the Gunners taking the win at the Emirates Stadium earlier this month.

Gunners Must Spend in January Despite Emery's Recent Comments 

Arsenal manager Unai Emery gave his view on the January transfer market earlier this month, telling reporters he doesn't think the Gunners will spend big on reinforcements:

Wednesday's showing highlighted several key issues for the Gunners, however, and a painful defeat to their biggest rivals should convince the club to spend a little more liberally when the window opens.

Depth in defence remains an issue, which the opening goal painfully highlighted. Granit Xhaka again played as a makeshift defender and got his movement all wrong, making things that much easier for Son:

At the other end of the pitch, Henrikh Mkhitaryan ruined several excellent chances, continuing what has been a poor season.

The Armenian bagged a brace against Southampton last Sunday but has been ineffective in most other matches, and young prospect Alex Iwobi has also laboured at times. Their struggles cost the team on Wednesday, and an extra winger who can come in to contribute immediately has to be on the team's shopping list.

Arsenal have bags of talent and just a handful of key issues to fix―if they do that in January, a top-four finish in the Premier League should be in the cards.

After Back-to-Back Defeats, Honeymoon is Over for Emery

Emery could do little wrong during the team's 22-match unbeaten streak, but consecutive defeats against Southampton and Spurs mean the honeymoon period is over.

The former Paris Saint-Germain boss has made a major impact at the Emirates Stadium―mostly a positive one―and thanks to the team's results, the headlines have been full of praise.

His handling of the Mesut Ozil situation has been poor, however, and his decision to say he was dropped for Wednesday's clash for "tactical reasons" rightly raised a few eyebrows:

He should expect some criticism for his decision to start Mkhitaryan instead, with the Armenian lasting just 45 minutes before Emery took him off, and his insistence on playing Xhaka in defence will likely be questioned as well. Laurent Koscielny came on at half-time to shore up the struggling back line.

With the busy festive period right around the corner, the Gunners can't afford to let this two-match slide turn into something bigger.

What's Next?

Arsenal host Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, while Spurs visit Everton on Sunday.