First things first, Tottenham were better than Arsenal during the last North London Derby. In truth, they were a whole lot better.
The Gunners kicked things off with Mesut Ozil’s composed finish, after Danny Welbeck’s good work down the right-side of the pitch. From that point on, it looked like The Gunners would attempt to imitate their 2-0 victory over Manchester City. They sat back, invited pressure and defended deep. Unfortunately (for them), they conceded twice whilst failing to create much up the other end of the pitch.
They looked insipid and uninterested. Tottenham, on the other hand, were hugely up for it. They looked like they had a point to prove. Spurs looked like they wanted to make it clear to all their rivals that they were ready to battle it out for a top four finish.
This season Spurs have held Arsenal to a draw at The Emirates and beaten them at White Hart Lane. They’ve given The Gunners every reason to believe that they could usurp them by the year’s end. Still, even with all this in mind, I hope that Tottenham fans wont get too carried away.
After every big victory, we always hear the same nonsense from fans and pundits alike. The usual guff about how ‘Spurs have announced themselves’ and how they’re now ready to go head-to-head with the big boys on a regular basis. These claims are usually much too optimistic and are based on a single result, rather than an entire season.
For Spurs to reach Arsenal’s level (and the level of Manchester United and Liverpool), they need to add consistency to their battle-pack. We know they can produce top drawer performances when they need to. But can they do it week-in, week-out? Do they have a squad that’s big enough to tackle multiple competitions (Tottenham are going to play a huge amount of games this season, thanks in part to their Europa League commitments)?
At this stage, it’s hard to say. With that in mind, let’s not start the ‘Mind the Gap’ bandwagon up again. Let’s leave the gloating until the end of the season.
What’s your take? Do Tottenham fans have reason to be optimistic?
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Forget about the ‘mind the gap’ boll***s! If you look at the table you will see the Woolwich are still ahead of us. Reasons to be optimistic, yes. However they have a much bigger payroll and larger revenue stream than we do and until the new stadium is built, we are in no position to close the gap on a regular basis, let alone mind it!