Tottenham Hotspur: Can Spurs finish above Arsenal?
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00:00 So James, we are back talking Spurs and a bit oddly, we're going to start talking about Spurs by actually talking about their North London rivals, Arsenal, which, as I said, seems a little bit of an odd place to start.
00:11 But, Arsenal have hit something of a speed bump in recent weeks, some of their performances haven't been the best, some of their results haven't been the best.
00:18 Yes, they beat Crystal Palace 5-0 most recently, but Palace are themselves going through their own issues that perhaps contributed to that loss.
00:26 And so, given that Spurs are within touching distance of Arsenal, they're also getting some of their injuries back,
00:32 is it actually possible that they might finish above Arsenal come the end of the season or at least challenge them all the way till the end?
00:41 Well, I think this has sparked a little bit of a debate. I think Gary Neville on Sky at the weekend was talking about Tottenham and how he thought we'd finish pretty strongly and potentially finish second or third.
00:52 It's a tough one, isn't it? I mean, Arsenal, you know, 43 points, they've got the points on the board. Tottenham just behind on 40, both played the same amount of games.
01:00 I think what you would say is Spurs have been hanging in there with so many players out. I mean, you know, eight, nine, ten players have been missing, really key players for us as well.
01:08 And we've still managed to sort of hang on to the coattails and be in the mix, really. So, Spurs getting the players back, I think you'd expect Tottenham to come strong at the end of the season.
01:17 I think I've already said that. I think we'll have a real good finish to the season. And I think if you look at the two teams, you know, Arsenal very, very solid, if not spectacular this season.
01:27 You know, I know they beat Palace 5-0 at the weekend, but, you know, they scored a couple of goals in injury time.
01:33 And I think goals have definitely been the problem. I think they'd lost two games at the Emirates prior to Palace without scoring a goal, one in the league, one in the Cup.
01:42 And goal scoring is a problem for them. They don't have an out-and-out number nine.
01:47 And Ketia, Jesus, both very good players in their own right, but bring different skills to the team.
01:51 And neither of them really are going to get you, you know, 15, 20 goals a season.
01:56 You look at the wide players as well. I don't think Saka has really hit the heights this year.
02:00 I mean, he's a fantastic player, but he's not quite been at it. And as has Martinelli either. Martinelli, another player I think I really rate highly.
02:08 Last year, he took the Premier League by storm. Both of those players were outstanding, scored lots and lots of goals, provided lots of assists.
02:16 And they were the real catalyst for us having such a good season.
02:20 You look at midfield as well. Odegaard, you know, again, he's been injured. He's been a little bit in and out, hasn't he?
02:25 So, if anything, you know, it could come down to the amount of goals in the team.
02:30 And, you know, who knows, they might well start firing and, you know, the two goals from Martinelli might well spur him on to great things this season.
02:44 But, you know, Tottenham have got goals in the team.
02:46 You know, Richarlison's in form, he's one of the most in-form strikers in the Premier League. He's six in six, number one December.
02:52 Son, 12 goals in 20 games. We've got him to come back into the fold, touch wood, providing he's not injured.
02:58 We've got Timo Werner now in the mix and, you know, Kulosevski has been a great player this season.
03:03 So, we're starting to get some players back, lots of goals in the team.
03:05 I think we average a couple of goals a game under Posta Koglu at least.
03:09 So, it could come down to a bit of a shootout in terms of who scores more goals.
03:12 I think the one thing that worries me with Tottenham and the way we play is that we always give teams a chance and we're conceding far too many goals at the moment.
03:19 So, that could be our Achilles heel, but it's going to be a real exciting finish.
03:22 And, you know, I might stick my neck out here and don't rule it out.
03:25 I'm not saying it'll happen, but I think we're certainly in with a shouter finishing above Arsenal.
03:30 But, you know, forget that. Let's just get back into the Champions League, frankly.
03:33 frankly.