English Debate: Are Spurs About To Overtake Arsenal?
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English Debate: Are Spurs About To Overtake Arsenal?
After a significant summer of transfer activity so far in North London, Graham Lister asks whether Tottenham Hotspur are finally ready to oust neighbours Arsenal from the Premier League’s ‘Big Four’…
Spurs wasted no time after losing Robbie Keane to Liverpool in bringing in David Bentley from Blackburn and appearing to firm up their interest in Zenit St Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin. Neither can be seen as a straight replacement for Keane because of the different roles they fulfil, and it is far from certain at the moment that the Arshavin deal will be completed. But Bentley’s arrival, in conjunction with those of Luka Modric, Giovani dos Santos, Heurelho Gomes and John Bostock, underlines the major rebuilding job that Juande Ramos is engaged in at White Hart Lane. Spurs have been one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market since Ramos was appointed, with Alan Hutton, Jonathan Woodgate, Da Silva Melo Gilberto and Chris Gunter also arriving in the January window.
Meanwhile Ramos has also been clearing out, with Pascal Chimbonda, Paul Robinson, Teemu Tainio, Steed Malbranque, Keane, Joe Martin, loanee Radek Cerny, Anthony Gardner and Jake Livermore all moving on (the last two on loan). Dimitar Berbatov, Younes Kaboul and others could well follow them out of the exit door.
The net effect of these ins and outs is that the potential threat from Tottenham is steadily growing, and their billing as the team most likely to challenge the hegemony of the Premier League’s ‘Big Four’ seems justified.
At the same time, the current top four club generally perceived to be most vulnerable to a resurgent Spurs are their neighbours and arch-rivals, Arsenal. The bitter hostility between fans of the two North London clubs intensified last week with the remarks made by ex-Arsenal trainee Bentley on his presentation to the media as a Spur. Bentley gleefully stoked up the inter-club rivalry by declaring his lifelong affection for Tottenham with comments that have galvanised Spurs fans while inflaming the red half of North London.
Given that Arsenal’s summer has been playing out against a back-drop of supposedly “bigger” clubs targeting some of their biggest stars - with three key midfielders moving on and a striker (Emmanuel Adebayor) only latterly committing himself to the Gunners - Bentley’s comments have added spice to the debate about a potential shift in the balance of North London football power. With Arsene Wenger maintaining his transfer market policy of pursuing promising youngsters rather than expensive ready-made stars, Tottenham fans are rubbing their hands in anticipation.
However, while a fascinating sub-plot in the battle for this season’s Premier League honours will be the struggle for local supremacy between Arsenal and Spurs (and with it entry to or continued exclusion from the Big Four), there are a number of pertinent issues to weigh up before making any bold predictions.
1) We’ve Been Here Before…
A year ago, Arsenal icon Thierry Henry left for Barcelona for £16million while Spurs brought in Darren Bent for half-a-million more and the pundits were lining up to suggest that Martin Jol’s side looked better-equipped than Arsene Wenger’s to change the landscape in the upper echelons of the Premier League. Spurs had, after all, finished fifth - only one place behind Arsenal - in each of the preceding two seasons, and Wenger’s ’Invincibles’ of 2003-04 had been broken up, with mostly kids replacing those seasoned campaigners.
Yet Arsenal started like an express train, Spurs like a creaking wheelbarrow, and by October Jol was out while the young Gunners were blazing a trail at the top of the table. The Tottenham renaissance had proved illusory. Although Arsenal’s title challenge eventually flagged, they lost a mere three Premier League games all season, finished third, just four points behind Manchester United, and were eight places and 37 points ahead of Spurs in the final reckoning. Wenger had proved again that it is dangerous to write off his team’s chances.
2) History May Be Bunk, But…
Tottenham are traditionally one of England’s biggest clubs and yearn to be back among the elite - which in today’s rarefied terms means in the top four, ideally higher than fourth, and competing in the Champions League. To make that jump - from 11th place last term - they will almost certainly have to dislodge Arsenal, assuming champions Manchester United, Scolari-fuelled Chelsea and a Keane-enhanced Liverpool are not about to crumble. And that of course is a potent added incentive for the cockerel, who has come off distinctly second best against the cannon in recent years. Yes, Spurs won the last meeting between the rivals in emphatic style; that 5-1 League Cup semi-final second leg thrashing of Arsenal at White Hart Lane was not only an essential step towards winning their first trophy for nine years, it also ended a dismal sequence for Spurs fans, who hadn’t had a win over the old enemy to celebrate in any competition since November 1999 - 21 meetings ago.
As welcome a psychological boost as that was in N17, the statistics are still heavily weighted towards N5. The two teams have played each other for league points 32 times since the advent of the Premier League. Spurs did the double over the Gunners in the first season, 1992-93, but have managed only three victories since then. So the record reads Arsenal 13 wins, Spurs five, with 14 draws. The Gunners have won 53 of the Premiership points at stake, Tottenham 29. Spurs still haven’t won the derby home or away since November 1999, and haven’t tasted a victory on their enemy’s patch since May 1993.
How Bentley, Ramos and the entire Lilywhite nation would love to change those damning statistics this time around.
3) Both Teams Are In Transition, Both Managers Under Pressure
Unlike Manchester United, who have a distinctly settled look heading into the new season, notwithstanding a possible Ronaldo departure and/or Berbatov arrival, both Arsenal and especially Tottenham remain works in progress. It’s a phrase fans dislike, even if it promises improvement, but many pundits see both clubs embarking on (another) season of transition. That’s certainly the case at White Hart Lane, given the wholesale personnel changes and the fact that this will be Ramos’s first full season in charge, launched on the back of his own pre-season preparations. But with Arsenal effectively having to assemble a new midfield, it is also true of Ashburton Grove. And while both managers are about as secure as any outside of Old Trafford, both will be under growing pressure this season - Ramos to prove he can take Spurs over the threshold to the promised land, Wenger to vindicate his transfer policy and prove that his faith in youth is valid. More prosaically, Ramos needs at least a top-three finish, Wenger at least a top-two - with silverware in any shape or form a required accompaniment.
Earlier this year Jose Mourinho tried to belittle Wenger by saying: “Arsenal are unique: their coach hasn’t won anything for years, but he’s an idol.” Even though every Gunners fan, like Wenger himself, would like trophies every year, 60,000 full-houses at the Emirates at every home game since the stadium opened confirm that they also value the quality of the football Wenger’s teams serve up. We are, after all, in the entertainment industry, and Mourinho can teach Wenger nothing at all about playing attractive, attacking football over more than a decade at one club (and delivering seven major trophies along the way).
Nevertheless, questions are being asked as never before about the Frenchman’s team-building, financial prudence and emphasis on youthful promise. Accordingly, with no silverware since 2005, and with the disappointing climax to last season in mind, he will be under pressure to deliver. And that pressure will intensify if Spurs get their season off to a significantly stronger start. George Graham, who managed both clubs, feels the shrewd and hard-nosed Ramos will make it tougher for Wenger than any other Tottenham boss of recent years.
One of those others - the Spaniard’s immediate predecessor, Martin Jol - has warned the ex-Seville manager that, given the resources that have been made available to him for squad strengthening, he really must achieve a top four finish this season. Jol, of course, has a bit of an axe to grind. He feels Ramos has an advantage he didn’t in so far as he is bringing in his own players, rather than being saddled with the purchases that sporting director Damien Comolli wanted as Spurs flirted in somewhat half-baked fashion with a continental model of club management. Jol has also expressed disappointment that Robbie Keane, whom he felt epitomised the Spurs spirit, was allowed to leave the club - though the Dutchman surely knows there is no future in keeping unsettled players, Keane’s head having been turned by Liverpool’s interest.
4) The Weaknesses
Ramos has been hailed as instigating a White Hart Lane revolution, and lifting a trophy in his first few months, beating Arsenal and Chelsea to do so, was as good a start as he could have hoped for. But while that League Cup success was rightly lauded, Spurs went right off the boil after the celebration party, with a distinctly mediocre last quarter of the season when they appeared to lose motivation. That did not show Ramos’s management in the best light and he will be keen to redress that. Another key weakness for Spurs last season was their propensity to squander leads. They equalled an unwanted Premier League record by losing as many as 33 points from winning positions. In contrast, Arsenal won 20 points from losing positions, and those two statistics were reflected in the clubs’ respective finishes. Spurs also suffered last season, again, from the absence through injury for much of it of inspirational skipper Ledley King. He is their natural leader and they are a much better unit, especially defensively, when he is available. Any team would miss Berbatov, should he leave, though the Bulgarian’s temperament has not always served the team as well as it might.
For Arsenal, the weaknesses revolve around a perceived lack of experience, exacerbated by the departures of Jens Lehmann, Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto Silva and Alexander Hleb. There is also a somewhat unbalanced central defence that lacks real authority in the air - and one of its components, William Gallas, has been criticised as a captain. Wenger has given a vote of confidence to Gallas, who has acknowledged he needs to hone his leadership skills, but the jury is still out.
5) The Strengths
Since January, Ramos appears to have bought shrewdly and, Keane apart, offloaded wisely too. Modric is a glittering talent with great touch and vision who should slot smoothly into the Tottenham team, while Hutton and Woodgate are outstanding defenders who have added new dimensions to the Spurs defence. Throw in Gareth Bale, back after prolonged injury, and King, who is due some luck on that front, and Tottenham could have a back-four as mobile and resolute as any. In midfield Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone have responded positively to Ramos, while Jamie O’Hara has emerged as a genuine talent. Bentley is clearly fired up to impress, as is Dos Santos, and Bent seems to have acquired a new lease of life with Jermain Defoe and now Keane out of the picture. Above all, though, there is Ramos - tactically astute, a proven winner, focused and unencumbered by sentiment.
At the Emirates, what Arsenal have that others crave is a style of playing which, when the team is on song, is almost irresistible. Wenger has a vision, and his players fit it; he doesn’t buy players and then try to devise a style that will suit them. That’s one reason why players who succeed at Arsenal don’t generally excel when they leave the club. (Will Flamini and Hleb be next to discover that?)
The Gunners also have a dazzling array of prodigiously talented youngsters. They may lack experience, but are gaining it all the time because they are being given their chance; most are stepping up to the plate impressively. Wenger has been slated for not rushing out to by a seasoned star (though he may yet surprise us with the purchase of an experienced midfielder), but at least that is an incentive for the existing talent at the club to seize the day. In Cesc Fabregas they have a world-class central midfield playmaker who contributed 13 goals and a League-best 20 assists last season, and in Aaron Ramsey they have recruited an outstanding prospect. In attack, they can call on the scoring potential of Adebayor, a fit again Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, and Carlos Vela - with the impressive Eduardo to come back from his broken leg in October.
6) Pre-Season
Spurs have had three straight wins, beating Norwich 5-1 then Celtic 2-0 and Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in the Feyenoord Tournament. Bent hit four against Norwich and one in each of the other two games, while Bentley got off the mark against Celtic and Dos Santos, a scorer against Borussia, has looked sharp.
Arsenal have played six pre-season games to date, winning four, drawing one and losing one. They’ve scored 17 goals in the process: Bendtner 5, Vela 4, Jack Wilshere 3, Walcott 2, Adebayor, Jay Simpson and Nacer Barazite 1 each. Wilshere and Ramsey have particularly caught the eye in midfield.
Prediction
It’s shaping up to be an absorbing contest between Wenger and Ramos and their respective teams. Spurs have the impetus of the new, while Arsenal have momentum born of consistency and continuity. Both have galaxies of stars, though arguably not brighter than those at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and Anfield. Wenger knows better than Ramos what it takes to win the title: he went close again last season but fell just short at the business end. Ramos is a formidably successful cup specialist. Arsenal have a style of playing that bristles with pace, flair and panache. Spurs have yet to evolve their style. But both sides showed costly lapses of concentration last season. Who wants it the most? Impossible to divide them - but I tip Arsenal to maintain their edge, narrowly, over their local rivals. Whether they will also be good enough to overhaul United and Chelsea is another question, though expect them to have a damn good tilt at it.
So, will North London outshine West London this season? Does the North-West have much to fear from the Emirates or White Hart Lane? And who, of Arsenal and Spurs, will enjoy the better campaign?
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ohh yea spurs.
we heard that ambition when you buy berbatov, jenas,chimbonda and manybit part player that feature too little in EPL games tat we cannot remember.
where are most of them now? some already planning their exit, some already exit, some cannot exit becoz no want want to buy.
sure one of those days, spurs can be top four. maybe the one exited will be liverpool not arsenal.
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haha that remains to be seen..
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I recalled Spurs came very close 2, 3 yrs back to take that 4th spot from Arsenal... Only for almost the whole squad to suffer food-poisoning on the last day of the season... a win would have got them the 4th spot but unfortunately for some reason... they lost and Arsenal eventually got that 4th spot...
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its different now that they have a manager with a good and proven track record.
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too many changes at a go is never a good thing for any club so its left to be seen if Spurs can up their game and match Arsenal.. also even thou Arsenal had been having some transfer issue with the bigger stars their youngster seems pretty good.. most young stars seems to be coming of age and that Ade seems to be willing to commit himself to their causes (probably for another season before complaining yet again) so the ball is seriously in Spurs court, alot will have to be done for them to be among the top 4, and even more so if they are to stay within that group.. or better still, make it a bigger group like those days when its only big 3 then with Chelsea coming in became big 4.. make it big 5!!!
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top 4 will be
Chelsea
Man City
Man Utd
Spurs
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The big 4 is named for smth.. arsenal will be there again.. a few good transfer this season and dream big again.. just like laz season.. nt even near the top 4
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The big 4 I belief is only because there are 4 champions league places currently... When it become 3, then the 3 that gets it will be consider the Big 3...
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if one thinks about this, spurs was never a top 4 sides since the EPL started. and b4 that, it is known as a cup side.
i fancy them for a top 6, if they are break into the top 4, well, good for them. they spent a fortune this season.
but hopefully not at the expense of liverpool. hehe...
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I think Spurs do stand a good chance this season with Juande Ramos and the new players that he bought. But never write Arsenal off too. This season seems like a tough fight having Arsenal seems like the weakest among the top 4
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Originally posted by Jeff86:
I think Spurs do stand a good chance this season with Juande Ramos and the new players that he bought. But never write Arsenal off too. This season seems like a tough fight having Arsenal seems like the weakest among the top 4
ya.. arsenal need some big signing to boost their fans ego
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spurs player are famous for injury prone player.
if they have fit team, i think they have a good chance. too bad, the club are curse by injury. the same go for Newcastle.
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Originally posted by reyes:
spurs player are famous for injury prone player.
if they have fit team, i think they have a good chance. too bad, the club are curse by injury. the same go for Newcastle.
ya lor my newcastle =.= their player counted all world class.. only thing is they injured like a piece of paper...
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it's not like arsenal do not have players like tt? look at RVP..he's one good example..
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Arsenal are a good side but I personally think they are a bit inexperience... The sale of more older players and bringing in even younger ones won't help their cause at all...
I feel currently, Arsenal are only depending on Wenger's experience to lead them to the top but, Wenger can only do so much off the field... Its those on the pitch that will have to play out the match when the pressure starts to build up over the season... I have no doubt that come the new year, being in contention Arsenal will still be there but Its the months of Feb to May that really matters... and its during these period, the players with experience matters...
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It is matter of time that Spurs will overtake Arse, reason is becos of the high debt burden incur for the construction of the Emirates Stadium.
IIRC Arse need to pay off 24mil pounds annually for the next 17 years and Wenger could only afford to buy low cost player( young & inexperineced) rather than proven player.
And may even have to sell star player of their own just to finance new buying.
So if the above remains for next 17 years, then Arse will be either stagnant and eventually slide down the table,whereas Spurs which is the 3rd most profitable club in UK according to Forbes and with little debt will continue to spend big in transfer mkt and could be very well in the top 4 within 2~3 season.