Big November Awaits After Tottenham Hint at Potential in Win over Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur's last potentially season-defining month (and a bit) did not go quite to plan. It was February this year, and Mauricio Pochettino's young side ultimately buckled under an intense late-winter schedule.
Arsenal were impressively defeated, but they then dropped costly Premier League points at Liverpool and at home to West Ham United. Fiorentina overwhelmed them in the Europa League before, on 1 March, their Capital One Cup hopes were suffocated by an oppressive Chelsea at Wembley.
Labelling a November Tottenham began on Monday night with a 3-1 win over Aston Villa as season-defining may be premature. But with three London derbies and two important Europa League matches ahead, there are big opportunities this month for Pochettino's team to set their season on a prosperous path.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
The Spurs head coach is understandably keen for his squad not to get ahead of itself (see above). Though they are unbeaten in the Premier League since the first day of the season, there have been growing pains the run does not immediately reveal at first glance.
The defeat of Aston Villa on Monday night highlighted some they are still undergoing in terms their attempts to prove themselves a genuine contender for lofty positions in the league.
Superior to many of their fellow top-flight clubs in many respects—in this case, their greater combativeness and creative qualities secured a 2-0 lead without barely breaking a sweat—but not so confident they are convincingly and consistently able to show it yet. A "maturing" team, as Pochettino described them, per the official club Twitter feed, but one still lacking a killer instinct.
It has been the difference between them sitting even higher than the commendable fifth place they currently occupy, five points behind leaders Manchester City and Arsenal. Drawing with Stoke City, Everton, Swansea City and Liverpool when they probably should have won (albeit the circumstances of those results have naturally corresponded to their different placements throughout the fledgling campaign).
Against Villa, Spurs' hesitance in pressing home the advantage provided by Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli's first-half goals threatened to come back against them. Jordan Ayew's reducing of the deficit began an initially nervy period when their earlier assurance gave way to them scrambling to keep the visitors out.
That they regained their composure, killing off Villa with a sweeping team move coolly finished by Harry Kane will have pleased Pochettino. A hopeful sign their earlier command and control was not just a reflection of their bottom-placed opponents' timidity.
Spurs' promise will be tested rigorously in the coming week. Their Europa League meeting with Anderlecht and Sunday's north London derby offer opportunities to rectify a couple of extra-curricular mis-steps blighting their post-August form.
Last month's 2-1 away loss at Anderlecht was another example of that lack of killer instinct. A strong start sealed by Christian Eriksen's opener gave way to a lethargy that allowed the Belgians back into the game.
The greater assertiveness shown in subsequent wins over Bournemouth and Aston Villa suggested it was just an off-night. Spurs will want to confirm that is the case back at White Hart Lane as they seek to strengthen their position in Group J, in the process boosting European credentials still wavering since that Fiorentina loss.
Arsenal are an even trickier proposition.
Tottenham could have beaten them in the Capital One Cup in September. Decent work going forward was undermined by a collective lack of focus defensively; Eriksen was just as culpable for the goals conceded as the criticised defensive pairing of Federico Fazio and Kevn Wimmer, if not more so.
Yet any notions a side not rotated will have had Arsenal's number will have been tempered by the Gunners' own strong form since then. A run that has seen them perform well even with a number of injured first-teamers, recording eye-catching wins over Manchester United and Bayern Munich among others.
Arsene Wenger's side will provide the most exacting examination yet of whether, as Jan Vertonghen implies (above), Spurs are learning from their mistakes and truly maturing as Pochettino hopes.
They are still figuring out how they best can hurt teams consistently when in possession themselves. But the urgency with which they applied pressure when Villa had the ball spoke well of Spurs' hunger to at least get into such situations.
Eriksen could be seen chasing back to track runners in a way he did not last time out against Arsenal. Danny Rose was so keen to get the ball he vacated his left flank in search of it at times, making sure he did not return having not helped win Spurs possession.
The middle quartet of centre-backs Toby Alderweireld and Vertonghen, and central midfielders Alli and Eric Dier will find Arsenal's attackers more troubling than Villa's. But the way they hunted down the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Jack Grealish—setting the tone and tempo for how Spurs then looked to attack—impressively displayed their burgeoning embrace of discipline, aggression and timing.
Beyond Arsenal, Spurs host West Ham United and Chelsea in November with a Europa League trip to Qarabag in between. The Hammers have begun the season in confident fashion. While the Blues are struggling, their defeat of Arsenal shows they can still get up for a London derby no matter their bigger problems.
Whatever happens, there will still be plenty of season for Pochettino and his side to make something of. But it is hard not to think this is the month we will find out just what this Tottenham team is—or isn't—capable of.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
