The Argentine produced a virtuoso goal of rare brilliance during a performance that highlighted his rapid emergence as Tottenham's most potent attacking threat 23 Oct 2014 23:15:00 COMMENT By Liam Twomey at White Hart Lane “It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low.” The most famous words of legendary manager Bill Nicholson have been the defining aspiration – if not always the reality – of Tottenham ever since they were first uttered. It was only fitting then, that on a night set aside to mark the passing and legacy of the club’s most towering figure, Erik Lamela embraced the spirit of the mantra. Harry Kane, the other protagonist of the evening, had already put Spurs ahead and in control when the ball ran loose on the edge of the penalty area in the 29th minute. What followed was one of the few moments in football that renders the other 21 players on the pitch as awed as the thousands in the stands. Lamela pounced from the side and, without a moment’s hesitation, wrapped his left leg around his right and sent the ball curling in a beautiful arc around Tomas Kosicky and inside the far post. Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies put their hands to their heads in wide-eyed amazement. Others simply stood and stared, jaws agape. Mauricio Pochettino – in perhaps the ultimate example of managerial professionalism – was the only man in the stadium to remain impassive. Fresh gasps and choruses of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ greeted every replay of the goal on the big screens at either end of White Hart Lane. The masses had seen but could not yet bring themselves to believe. Most players who reach the top level of football do so by taking their mastery of the fundamentals to dizzying heights. They can win all manner of trophies and wow our minds with the polished nature of their skills. By realising our own dreams, they can even find a place in our hearts. But there is a special realm, in a rarefied air of its own, reserved for the few who aim higher than all others and grace our eyes with creations on the pitch that never even entered our thoughts. Lamela’s was a moment – much like Dennis Bergkamp’s unforgettable control and finish against Newcastle, Gianfranco Zola’s backflick volley against Norwich City or Ronaldinho's magical dancing toe-poke against Chelsea – which transcended the aura that surrounds great goals. It resides in the place where football meets art. It was also the sensational pinnacle of an all-round excellent performance. Lamela took just 15 seconds to deliver a hint of the exhilaration that was to come, executing a no-look pass with virtually his first touch of the ball, and the prodigious Argentine proceeded in the same virtuoso spirit. He drifted around the final third with pace, purpose and deceptive power, taking every opportunity to run at the Asteras defence. Playing the 47 minutes between his astonishing opener and substitution on the crest of a tidal wave, he grew in stature with every touch and deservedly doubled his tally when he followed up his own shot to volley through the legs of Juan Munafo on 66 minutes.