Arsenal legend Ian Wright has delivered his verdict on his former club’s bitter rivals Tottenham possibly winning the Premier League title. The two north London clubs sit at the of the table heading into the October international break with both on 20 points from a possible 24 with Spurs only above the Gunners on goals scored.
Ange Postecoglou’s side opened match week seven with a 1-0 victory against Luton Town with Arsenal then closing out the weekend with a win against Manchester City by the same score line. While on paper, the Gunners’ triumph appears far superior, Tottenham were forced to beat the Hatters in the second half playing with 10 men after Yves Bissouma was sent off just before the interval.
Thankfully an early Micky van de Ven goal saved Bissouma’s blushes with Spurs going on to defend valiantly for the 40 minutes that followed the Netherlands international’s first goal for the club. Understandably, given he scored the decisive goal, Postecoglou praised van de Ven after the game, but he seemed more impressed by the display of his defensive partner Cristian Romero.
They’ve been great all year, both of them, the whole back four and Vic [Guglielmo Vicario], he admitted in his post-match press conference. “I think a big part of that is Romero because when you look at it, it’s Destiny’s first year in the Premier League, Micky’s first year in the Premier League, Vic’s first year and Porro just beginning his Premier League career, but they’ve got a World Cup winner beside them and I think he makes them feel like they belong. They feel really comfortable having him beside them and you can see them flourish.
“Micky was outstanding today with the way he dealt with it. We knew when playing here against Luton we would have to deal with a lot of long balls and physicality, but you know Micky has outstanding physical qualities but he’s also maturing and learning as a player as well.”
Another clean sheet and three points will certainly please Postecoglou and despite it being early on in the season, Spurs have every right to be there and consider themselves in the Premier League title race. On Match of the Day, that fact was highlighted by a stat that showed on 11 occasions teams who have been on 20+ points after eight games have gone on to win the title.
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