'He did nothing against Chelsea' - Merson slams Kane for his latest Tottenham display

The Spurs star didn't live up to his billing as one of the best strikers in Europe during a 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge, says a former Arsenal man

Paul Merson has slammed Harry Kane for his latest Tottenham display against Chelsea, insisting that he offered nothing to his team during the damaging defeat on Wednesday.

Pedro opened the scoring for the Blues on the night before an embarrassing Kieran Trippier own goal sealed a 2-0 win for the Blues.

The result effectively ended Tottenham's hopes of winning the Premier League title this season, with nine points now separating them and leaders Liverpool in the table.

Kane, who has only just returned from an ankle ligament injury, was unable to affect the game in any meaningful way, despite playing the full 90 minutes.

Up next for Spurs is a huge north London derby against Arsenal on Saturday and according to Merson, they will have to produce a much-improved display to beat their arch-rivals.

The ex-Arsenal midfielder singled out Kane for criticism ahead of the contest, questioning his status as one of Europe's finest centre-forwards.

"Tottenham were really bad on Wednesday, poor," Merson wrote in his latest predictions column for Sky Sports. "If you'd have just come over to visit England and gone to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham, and you went to see Harry Kane because he's supposed to be one of the best in the world, you wouldn't believe it.

"I've seen people have bad games, but he didn't do anything in the entire game. Nothing. I was shocked. I don't know if he's still carrying his injury or what.

"I don't think Tottenham are playing well, and the pressure is off Arsenal going into this. Tottenham have to draw this game otherwise they're going to be pulled into the top four battle."

Mauricio Pochettino's men will be looking to avoid a third successive Premier League defeat this weekend, having also lost 2-1 to Burnley on February 23.

Arsenal are now only four points behind Spurs in the table and with Manchester United and Chelsea hot on their heels, a huge battle for the final Champions League spot could ensue in the coming weeks.

After their latest fixture at Wembley, Tottenham will then turn their attention to a Champions League last-16 second leg clash against Borussia Dortmund in Germany - holding a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg.