Eric Dier makes his point after Tottenham exit with cheeky dig at Arsenal

Eric Dier made a point to his critics with his man of the match display against Arsenal to help Bayern Munich to the Champions League semi-finals.

All eyes were on Harry Kane for Wednesday night's quarter-final in Munich and whether the former Tottenham striker could return to haunt his old local rivals. Instead it was another 30-year-old Spurs man, technically still contracted to the north London club, who stepped into the limelight.

Dier was named man of the match with a dominant performance at the back as Mikel Arteta's team were shut out at the Allianz Arena in a 1-0 victory for Bayern, with Joshua Kimmich heading home the goal that decided the tie. Dier was heavily involved in the match with four tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and he won two of his aerial duels while registering a 92.2% success rate with his passing from his 77 attempts.

The centre-back is technically still on loan from Tottenham, although his deal at Bayern has now been triggered to become permanent this summer at the end of his contract.

Dier admitted after the game that he enjoyed getting one over his old rivals, telling Sky Sports: "Yeah it was nice. It was nice to knock them out to be honest."

He added: "These are the nights that you want to be a part of and to play for this club play here in a quarter-final and experience that was was amazing, and we're just really happy that we got through."

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Ange Postecoglou barely used Dier in his final season at the north London club and the former England international had his critics in his last 12 months or so at the club. However, this performance went some way to showing that the experienced defender can yet reach his peak and he has been a regular figure for Bayern and one of their brighter players in a tough second half to the season, during which time they have watched on as unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen claimed the Bundesliga title for the first time in their history.

"For me, it's a privilege to play for a club like this," Dier said after the win against Arsenal. "And, you know, I feel extremely proud to play for the club. I love to play every single time, you know, to put on the shirt is special to me."

On his long-term future beyond 2025, he added: "I don't get too far ahead of myself. I think it's real dangerous, but yeah, I love it here. I love the club. I love the feeling of playing for this club. So I will just keep trying to play well."

While Dier's time at Tottenham came to a natural conclusion after almost a decade, he could yet prove that his best years lie ahead of him.

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