“Pre Match” (CC BY 2.0) by Ronnie Macdonald
With the 2016-17 Premier League campaign now in its final stretch, it looks as though Tottenham Hotspur will finish above Arsenal in the table. Not since the 1994-95 season have Spurs ended up above their North London rivals in the standings. Tottenham could have achieved the feat last season, but a 5-1 hammering by Newcastle United saw them end up behind the Gunners. Even in a two-horse race, Spurs finished third, as some would say.
This season, though, things are looking very different. While Tottenham are very much in the race for the Premier League title, there is a distinct possibility that Arsenal will not even end up in the top four. This would be the first time in Arsene Wenger’s reign that the Gunners would fail to finish in the Champions League places. As for Spurs, they are set to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition for the second year in a row.
Busy summer for Arsenal and Tottenham
Things, though, looked quite different in the summer of 2016. Arsenal splashed the cash and signed Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach for £30 million. The 24-year-old midfielder had established himself as one of the best players in the Bundesliga and was supposed to be a massive hit at the Emirates Stadium. The arrival of defender Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia for £35m was expected to make Arsenal defensively stronger.
Then there was Lucas Perez, a 28-year-old forward signed off the back of a 19-goal season with Deportivo La Coruna; £17 million was the transfer fee. Having finished second in the Premier League last season, Arsenal were expected to step up their game and push for the title. After all, with the additions of Xhaka and Mustafi to the team, results were only going to improve. The situation, though, has actually become worse, some would say even laughable.
This season, backing the Gunners to lose games would be more profitable than predicting them to win. If you had predicted Arsenal to lose each of their games, then you would have made a profit of £110, according to research by sports betting company Bet Way. Now compare that to Tottenham, and the gulf in class between the two North London clubs becomes clear.
The study claims that if you had predicted Spurs to win each of their matches this season, then you would have made a profit. After all, as Who Scored reports, while Arsenal have won 17 and lost eight of their Premier League matches so far this season, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have won 21 and lost only three. There’s little surprise that Spurs are Chelsea’s only genuine challengers for the league title.
Tottenham also made signings in the summer of 2016. Defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama arrived from Southampton for £11 million, Vincent Janssen from AZ for £17 million and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou from Marseille for just under £9.5 million. Spurs also brought in Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle United for £30 million, the midfielder having played a stellar role for France at the 2016 European Championship in his home country.
Goalkeeper Pau Lopez also joined, on loan from Spanish club Espanyol. Just like Arsenal, not all of the new faces have been successful. Dutch striker Janssen has scored only two Premier League goals all season, while midfielder Sissoko has started only seven games in the league and N’Koudou looks to be just a squad player. The only 2016 summer signing that has made a considerable impact at Tottenham is Wanyama, who has formed a formidable partnership with Mousa Dembele in central midfield.