Rose celebrated his first start in the Premier League by firing a contender for goal of the season when he smashed home Manuel Almunia's fisted clearance. Positioned 30 yards out, the 19-year-old winger struck his left-foot volley with such power it screamed inches over the head of Almunia. Even if the Leeds United academy product never plays again he will already have sealed his place in White Hart Lane folklore as Spurs ended their 11-year wait for a league win over their north London neighbours. Upon scoring Rose's first reaction was to look for his dad Nigel in the stands and he later swapped shirts with Theo Walcott, which he gave to his younger brother Mitchell. "I don't think I have ever hit a better shot than that in my life," said the England Under-21 international. "I was going to bring it down at first and then at the last minute I just thought I would hit it. I caught it sweetly and it went in. "I was very nervous but the lads helped me out massively before the kick-off. "I think when I was younger - at Leeds when I was about 12 - I hit a nice 20 yarder but this one tops it off. "It's the first time we have beaten Arsenal in a few years so it was nice to get on the scoresheet. "I didn't know what to do after scoring. I ran to the touchline and then I ran to look for my Dad. I managed to see him. "Then I looked around and Arsenal had taken the kick-off so I just forgot about it straight away and I ended up defending." Rose's sensational opener hauled Spurs to within one point of fourth place Manchester City, catapulting them back into Champions League contention. Next up are Chelsea, who travel to White Hart Lane on Saturday, with fixtures against Manchester United and City also to come. "We needed to win to put a bit of pressure on Man City. They have got a hard game at the weekend (Manchester United) and so have we," said Rose. "I know a lot of people wrote us off with the hard games we had coming up so it was important to get three points against Arsenal. We put in a good performance as well. "It proves we can beat Chelsea. We have come on leaps and bounds this season. We have been more consistent away from home as well. "It's the first time we have beaten Arsenal in 11 years and we have shown we can beat anyone at home." While Rose and Gareth Bale did the damage at Arsenal's end, it was the heroics of Heurelho Gomes who preserved Spurs' lead with a string of magnificent late saves. "The atmosphere in the dressing room was unbelievable after the game," said Rose. "Everyone was buzzing and jumping on Gomes. He made three terrific, world-class saves and everyone was buzzing."
