England striker Harry Kane was unable to inspire Tottenham to victory as they were defeated 2-1 at home to north London neighbours Arsenal in the League Cup third round.
Despite Spurs beginning the contest on the front foot, the derby atmosphere inside White Hart Lane Lane was brought down a peg or two, at least inside the home end, when Arsene Wenger’s side took the lead on 26 minutes.
Three Lions midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had an instrumental part in the opener, cutting in from the left and driving a fierce strike low to Spurs keeper Michel Vorm’s right. Vorm’s parried save fell perfectly for the on-rushing Mathieu Flamini to stab home the rebound.
Tottenham, who had Gareth Southgate’s Under-21s squad member Eric Dier sitting alongside a former Young Lions man Tom Carroll, fought back and Spurs were level on 56 minutes.
Nacer Chadli jinked past Mathieu Debuchy and whizzed a low ball across goal, where the unfortunate Calum Chambers, another U21s international, deflected it into his own net to draw the hosts level.
Tottenham captain Harry Kane tussles with Arsenal's Calum Chambers
Kane was denied a spectacular goal shortly after when his acrobatic kick was cleared on the line by Kieran Gibbs following a corner.
The watching Southgate had another member of his squad to cast his eye over when Dele Alli entered the fray on 73 minutes as Tottenham pressed for a winner, but heartbreak was to be in store for the former MK Dons man and his colleagues.
Two minutes after Alli’s introduction his side were behind again, and the winning goal arrived in spectacular fashion.
Flamini sealed the win, and his brace, with a perfectly executed volley from 20 yards past Vorm to spark wild celebrations in the away end.
Elsewhere in the League Cup, England skipper Wayne Rooney got his first domestic goal of the season to put Manchester United on their way to a 3-0 victory over Championship side Ipswich Town.
Wayne Rooney opens the scoring for Manchester United against Ipswich
The 29-year-old held off Piotr Malarczyk before emphatically finishing past Bartosz Bialkowski, for his first League Cup goal since 2010’s final against Aston Villa.
Phil Jones came off the bench to replace Three Lions team-mate Chris Smalling at the heart of United’s defence in the second half.
And winger Ashley Young again staked his claim for an England recall, looking dangerous throughout, but there was no room for Michael Carrick who stayed on the bench.
Meanwhile, England forward Jay Rodriguez scored goals either side of half-time for Southampton as they romped to a 6-0 victory at Milton Keynes Dons.
Rodriguez curled a shot in off the post to put the visitors in front on five minutes, before adding a penalty soon after the interval.
Ryan Bertrand came on as a second-half sub for the Saints, replacing England U21s defender Matt Targett after 55 minutes.
Gary Cahill played 90 minutes for Chelsea in their 4-1 victory at Walsall, but there was no place in the West Brom side for Saido Berahino as they went down to Norwich.
Jonathan Leko came off the bench for the Baggies before meeting up with the England Under-17s side ahead of their European qualifiers in Portugal.
England Under-18s striker Karlan Ahearne-Grant started in Charlton’s 4-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
And Liverpool skipper James Milner smashed in their first penalty in a shoot-out following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Carlisle at Anfield.
Nathaniel Clyne played 86 minutes as the Reds somehow mustered 47 shots for only one goal, before heading through 3-2 on penalties to avoid an embarrassing Cup exit.
