Whisper it, but have Tottenham Hotspur overtaken Arsenal as the dominant force in North London for good?
A lot has changed since the previous season concluded, where Mikel Arteta’s prospects looked bright as he won the club a record 14th FA Cup title. The upshot of that win over Chelsea at Wembley meant the Gunners qualified for European football for this season.
Failure to achieve that in a pandemic-hit world would have slowed down the Spaniard’s rebuild of the side and frankly, they needed the money from European football, even if it didn't come from the Champions League.
In the last few weeks, performances and results have been shambolic and dispiriting. The ebullience from the opening months of Arteta’s reign has given way for frustrating sluggishness, just as the newfound tactical nous and sophistication that became their hallmark since June also look to have evaporated.
While the Gunners were hardly fluid in attack post-lockdown, the players seemed to be imbibing the wet-behind-the-ears manager’s ideas and it looked to be only a matter of time before improvements began to show. What Gooners held onto — mostly being harder to beat and knowing they could actually compete against big sides — now seems to be as fleeting as the assurance they had in the former Manchester City assistant manager.
Fortunately for the young Arsenal boss, that FA Cup win surely buys him time and a drastic change at the helm is unlikely unless results worsen a great deal.
As for Spurs, the sky certainly wasn’t falling at the end of the previous campaign but few foresaw a scenario where Jose Mourinho’s team would sit atop the Premier League table in December.
Being top as a placeholder is one thing, leading as title contenders is another, regardless of what Mourinho or Serge Aurier imply in public.
The performances when football resumed were uninspiring and the opening day defeat by Everton put a target on the Portuguese manager’s back. If anything, the acceptance of the Lilywhites as challengers for a first PL title shows how quickly situations can change: one minute you’re on top of the world and the next people get on your back in the blink of an eye.
In a sense, if Aurier has epitomised the Lilywhites’ recent climb to first place, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s alarming drop-off reflects the situation at Arsenal without a shred of doubt. The Gabon frontman’s issues have, by and large, epitomised his team’s slide in 2020/21, with the side suddenly without a trusted goalscorer to step in and take charge since Auba’s form waned.
For Aurier, the man the Gunners’ skipper could come up against on Sunday evening if utilised on the left, the recent praise through gritted teeth has been quite amusing to see, due to the previous bias and preconceived notions about the defender.
Some observers have applauded the right-back’s showings in recent weeks, with extra commendation reserved for the West African’s application against Manchester City and last weekend at Chelsea.
Against the Citizens, the Ivory Coast defender made the highest volume of tackles (nine) and wasn’t dribbled past all game against Pep Guardiola’s troops.
He made a game-high two interceptions for the home side and ranked higher than any Spurs player for combined tackles and interceptions (11), the closest to him was left-back Sergio Reguillon with seven. The former Paris Saint-Germain full-back also ended the game with seven recoveries, only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (eight) gained possession of more loose balls.
Away at Mourinho’s old stomping ground, the 27-year-old also led the way for tackles and interceptions put together (four), won both of his attempted tackles and was the visitors’ most successful presser. The defender even forced Edouard Mendy into a smart stop from the edge of the area in the first 45 minutes which turned out to be the North London side’s only effort that tested the Senegal goalkeeper.
In truth, the fickleness of observers means a sole mistake is all it’ll take for the knives to come out for the ex-Toulouse man and resurrect doubts about his dependability.
In defence (again!) of Serge Aurier.
— Seye Omidiora (@theReal_SeyE) September 1, 2020
Statistics that highlight full-back's importance to Tottenham and why letting him leave after Matt Doherty's arrival will be ill-advised.
Piece on @GoalAfrica https://t.co/dNiwR6EcYv
When critics gave Aurier stick for his showings and wanted him sold after Doherty’s acquisition, Goal revealed the 27-year-old could rival the arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers, while an examination of the collapse vs West Ham in mid-October, for which the African man somehow bore the brunt, showed the ensuing opprobrium was unjust.
There’s a feeling that extra competition at right full-back has seen the buoyant West African step up a notch and he is likely to start on Sunday evening, particularly after the Irishman’s calamitous return to the side in Thursday night’s 3-3 draw at LASK — he made an error for the home side’s opener and was somewhat at fault for their second.
A positive Covid-19 test for Doherty on international duty meant Aurier started vs Man City two weeks ago and he’s kept his place in Mourinho’s league XI as a reward for the admirable performance vs the Cityzens.
In both games against City and Chelsea, Moussa Sissoko dropped into the channel between Spurs’ right centre-back on the day — Toby Alderweireld and Joe Rodon respectively — and Aurier, but it remains to be seen if the experienced Spurs manager will be as cautious against Arsenal to offer the Ivorian and the returning Belgium centre-back the same level of protection.
Form can go out of the window in derby games, as the aphorism suggests, so it’ll be up to Aurier and his teammates to beat an Arsenal side evidently there for the taking to remind observers why they are the kings of North London.