Paul Merson says he has a better chance of winning Strictly Come Dancing than Tottenham Hotspur winning the silverware this season, while Spurs boss Angie Postecoglou doubled down on her claim to have won the silverware in her second season at the club.
Gabriel Magalhaes’ header earned Arsenal a hard-fought 1-0 win over Spurs, who have won just one of their last four games and remain bottom of the table.
That is in stark contrast to Postecoglou’s comments in pre-season when he said the club “usually” lifted the trophy in its second season. But the Spurs boss has now revised his comments to say it “always” happens in its second season, suggesting he is confident of another successful campaign.
“I will correct myself. I don’t usually win. I always win in my second year. Nothing has changed,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports.
“I don’t say things I don’t believe.”
We asked Postecoglou about his comments and Spurs’ chances of winning the title this season. Super SundayMerson, who began her Strictly Come Dancing journey on Saturday night, replied: “I like Ange. I like her too. But I have a better chance of winning Strictly than Ange winning something in season two!
“That’s their opportunity. They just don’t see it now.”
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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has insisted he ‘always wins’ during his second season at the club despite feeling frustrated and believes his time at Spurs will be no different, despite the defeat to Arsenal.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you look at them and look at Newcastle, Tottenham have played better in the first three games but Newcastle have more points than them. It’s a subtle difference.
“If they get into the top four, that would be incredible. They need Solanke to score 20 goals, and he needs his crossing to improve to get to 20. If that doesn’t improve, you can put Haaland up there and he won’t get to 20.
They’re either kicking medicine balls or balloons. It’s one of those two things. They either don’t go anywhere or they jump over everyone for miles. I’ve never seen anything like that.
He said: “I don’t think it’s better than last season. Last season was better than this season. They were absolutely fantastic. From a neutral standpoint, I like watching Tottenham, I like Angie and they play fun football, but they need some big players to step up.
“James Maddison wasn’t great on Sunday. He’s got to step up. He’s got to get better. He plays in a position where you’ve got to get things done. I personally don’t think he did that on Sunday and when you look at who he played, he’s got to get better. I’m not digging him because I’m a huge fan of his. But I’ve played in that position and I know he’s got to get better.”
‘Arsenal’s defensive record shows how good Man City are’
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his team’s defensive performance following their 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s third straight win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium means Mikel Arteta’s side are two points clear of champions Manchester City ahead of next Sunday’s clash at the Etihad Stadium, which will be broadcast live. Sky Sports.#
Arsenal have won 10 of their 11 away games in 2024, with their only draw coming at champions Manchester City. Arteta’s side have conceded just three goals away from home this year and will be looking to take on Erling Haaland and his team-mates, with Merson believing his former club will head to the Etihad full of confidence after their win over Spurs.
“It’s a massive, massive result,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“They were missing two big players and they came to Tottenham, their arch-rivals, and won this game. And they did it very comfortably. I heard Son Heung-min say they dominated. They probably did, but they never looked like they were going to score. They had a couple of half-chances, but it wasn’t enough. They didn’t cross enough.
“The players who came to Arsenal – they were hard to come by. Jorginho hadn’t played for a long time. But they all came and did their job. If one of those players is lazy, Tottenham will cut through you like a knife through butter. Their set-up was great, they counter-attacked, they were good at set pieces. Arsenal won 1-0.
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“Now they can go to the Etihad Stadium with confidence.
“The whole Premier League will have been watching today when Odegaard and Rice were out. This time it wasn’t so drastic.
“But now this league is going to be a two-sided affair this year. I’ve always thought, who can beat Manchester City in 38 games? I think Arsenal are good enough to be there. Arsenal have every chance of winning this Premier League.
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Gary Neville believes Mikel Arteta is a strong candidate to succeed Pep Guardiola as Arsenal bid for the Premier League title.
He said: “He’s going to play against Jorginho next week. When City are chasing you, he’s quick on the ball. He’s got good vision, he’ll half-turn and pass the ball. That’s what you have to do. You have to get through the press or you’re in for a long day at Manchester City. They’re chasing you and they all know where you’re going. Jorginho was brilliant against City at the Emirates, can he do the same at the Etihad?
“That graphic (of Arsenal’s defence) tells you one thing and one thing only: how good City are. If they don’t win the league and their away record is like that, then you know how good City are. We don’t give them that credit. They are that, that good. It’s scary. It’s unrealistic to put up numbers like that.”
Watch Man City v Arsenal live on Sky Sports next Sunday, kick-off at 4.30pm.
