Whatever doubts there are for Arsenal, at Tottenham they are far greater – and the similarity between these old rivals is stark
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wo goals for Harry Kane, another for Son Heung-min and, to compound Arsenal’s misery, Rob Holding sent off. Tottenham had won the derby and would go on to win their last two games of the season to take fourth place and the final Champions League qualification spot from Arsenal. It was the end of the 2021-22 campaign, and the sixth season in a row in which Tottenham had finished above Arsenal and, for the first time since the 60s, it seemed that they had a definitive superiority in north London.
Since when – although Spurs will point out they have won a trophy and Arsenal have not – the pendulum has swung decisively back the other way. Mikel Arteta has remade Arsenal, but the question is whether, after three straight second-place finishes, they can go one better and win the league for the first time since 2004, a drought that itself makes success more difficult.
The long wait intensifies desire. Even at this stage of the season, there is an acute consciousness of where the finish line is: games are not just games, they are steps towards that final goal and that, inevitably, leads to a heightened emotional state.
