Arsenal threaten to turn tide on Mourinho's struggling Spurs

Published : Sunday, 12 July, 2020 at 12:00 AM Count : 674

Arsenal's Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2nd R) celebrates scoring the opening goal with Arsenal's English striker Bukayo Saka (L) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium in London on July 7, 2020. photo: AFP

LONDON, JULY 11: The clash between Tottenham and Arsenal on Sunday may lack the usual furore of a derby, with no fans present and both sides seemingly out of the race for a place in next season's Champions League.
However, Jose Mourinho's Spurs have a point to prove, with a rejuvenated Arsenal under Mikel Arteta threatening to tip the balance of power in north London back in their favour.
For 22 years between 1995 and 2017, Spurs failed to finish above their fiercest rivals in the Premier League. Arsenal fans even came to christen the day each year they could no longer be caught by Spurs as "St Totteringham's Day".
Yet, as the Gunners' glory years under Arsene Wenger faded away, Spurs became the dominant force.
When goals from Dele Alli and Harry Kane won the final north London derby at White Hart Lane to ensure Tottenham would finish above Arsenal in the league three years ago, there were hopes Mauricio Pochettino could follow Wenger's example to build a title-winning team to play in the club's new state-of-the-art stadium.

Instead of an inspiration, the rising cost of the £1 billion ($1.3 billion) Tottenham Hotspur stadium weighed heavily.
The Argentine boss worked wonders to keep Tottenham in the top four at Arsenal's expense over the past two seasons despite precious little investment in the transfer market and a longer-than-expected spell at their temporary home of Wembley.
Despite reaching the Champions League final last season, Pochettino was sacked in November, with Spurs on the slide due to a squad that had gone stale.

Arsenal changed managers too just a month later, with Unai Emery unable to turn around the flagging fortunes of the club in Wenger's final years.
But after heading in different directions Spurs appointing grizzled veteran Mourinho while Arsenal gave their former player Arteta his first managerial job Arsenal appear to be better prepared heading into next season.
Mourinho, 57, and Arteta, 38, have both returned 1.6 points-per-game in the Premier League so far.
However, the Spaniard has galvanised supporters and blooded a host of promising youngsters that point to a brighter future. -AFP