Those folk from down the road are inherently pessimistic, and hey, why wouldn’t you be? Success has hardly arrived in droves for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in modern times, with their knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in crunch time forcing nihilism upon its trophy-desperate fanbase.
They’ve been hurt many a time.
We all know about the ‘Spursy’ gene, and there’s perhaps no phrase that epitomises that club’s utterly bonkers nature than ‘Dr. Tottenham will see you now’ – one likely coined by a self-deprecating fanbase. If you’re team’s in trouble and in need of a result, don’t fear, the doc from N17 is on hand. Crystal Palace were winless before the Lilywhites rocked up at Selhurst Park last month, completed a routine check-up, and wrote a prescription for a 1-0 home win. Ipswich Town are on the hunt for their first Premier League win in over 20 years when they face Ange Postecoglou’s side on Sunday.
But the master surgeon from north London is not the only doctor in action this weekend. A specialist operator, one Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has turned to on a couple of occasions in the past, is set to come to the fore in west London. The Gunners need Dr Chelsea again.
You would not associate one of the most winningest clubs of the 21st-century with offering life support, especially when Roman Abramovich was still knocking around. However, the Blues have had an odd knack of getting Arteta and his team out of spots of bother in recent years.
This weekend, Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge having endured back-to-back defeats and winning just two of their previous six games. Arteta is starting to come under scrutiny, with the fixture arriving at a time when the Spaniard’s linearly progressing project has hit a moment of uncertainty on and off the field.
Defeat at the Bridge would not leave the boss on the brink, far from it, but that seat of his may well get a little bit warmer. Arsenal could be ten points adrift of league leaders Liverpool in a season where they were expected by many a neutral – let alone the most optimistic of Gooners – to win their first Premier League title since 2004. There have, of course, been mitigating factors such as red cards, a tough schedule and key injuries, but the underlying numbers make for pretty sorry reading and do not point towards a team that can challenge. Arsenal have amassed 18 points from ten games, but their expected points haul, according to Opta, has been 15.9 – the ninth-highest in the division.
You’ve all seen the Premier League table, but how do team’s underlying performances stack up in the Expected Points table in 2024-25 so far?
You can find this in the Opta stats hubs on https://t.co/f7Qrsp7PUp#ad @betfair | https://t.co/PzAWPNvenZ
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst)November 8, 2024
Expectations matter, and Arteta could fall victim to his own success if Arsenal do not kick on once Martin Odegaard reintegrates following a six-week spell out.
However, there’s a chance for their season to ignite on Sunday in a monster London derby. Chelsea have unwittingly helped us out before, and they could do it again this weekend.
It was a 3-1 triumph over Frank Lampard’s Blues in 2020 which arguably saved Arteta’s job after a historically poor start to the league season – their worst since 1974/75. A 2-1 defeat at Everton was their eighth of the campaign by mid-December. Arsenal were so bad that Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer he “would not be so sure” the Gunners survived the drop.
Carlo Ancelotti had told Arteta he had a week to live, and the life support machine was brought out after a thumping defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup a few days later, but Emile Smith Rowe gave the Spaniard the kiss of life when Chelsea came to town as he inspired a 3-1 victory.
At the end of 2021/22, Arsenal rebounded from a nightmare April by winning 4-2 at Stamford Bridge which reignited their top-four hopes. The following year, Arsenal steadied themselves by beating Chelsea 3-1 at home having seen their title challenge go up in flames.
The situation with Arteta is not yet totally bleak, but Sunday’s routine check-up with the doctor could deteriorate into something more sinister if Arsenal fall to secure three points. The November break would offer some respite, but the Gunners need to acquire some positive momentum from somewhere in order to get their season rolling.
The in-form Nottingham Forest and red-hot Sporting CP await at the end of the month. Sunday is massive for Mikel.
