Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has taken a swipe at Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal’s bitter north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday. Goals from Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins condemned Spurs to their third consecutive Premier League defeat.
Spurs now find themselves fifth in the league table, trailing four points behind current leaders, Arsenal.
Arsenal fans will still have been celebrating seeing their side top the table after a 1-0 win over Brentford by the time their mood was boosted further by Spurs’ loss.
Ange Postecoglou will be desperate to see his side produce a positive response when they take on Manchester City next time out. The Gunners, meanwhile, find themselves in the unusual position in which a Tottenham win would be to their benefit. If Spurs can take points off of the reigning champions, it will give Mikel Arteta’s side a boost in the Premier League title race.
Tottenham will have to be at their very best to get anything against Manchester City, though. They will also need to iron some flaws out of their game.
Tottenham weakness identified
Theo Walcott, who made almost 400 appearances for Arsenal over a twelve year stint at the Emirates Stadium, has now identified one such weakness of Tottenham’s, which was exposed by Aston Villa.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Walcott said Watkins “has been running in behind the whole game. He has just put Ben Davies in doubt a little bit.”
Unable to resist a jibe, Walcott added, “I lived off running in behind Tottenham, so I am pretty happy.”
The Villans were indeed able to find space in behind the Tottenham defensive line. Manchester City will punish them ruthlessly if they are able to repeatedly unlock the Spurs rearguard in the same way.
Arsenal focus on own title hopes
Before Tottenham get to face off against Manchester City, though, all eyes at Arsenal will be on their next Premier League encounter. They will host Wolves on Saturday, in need of another three points. Before then, though, they must negotiate a Champions League clash against Lens.
An intense fixture schedule is something Arteta will have to contend with regularly throughout this campaign. The Spanish coach’s tactical dexterity will be tested, as will the strength in depth of his squad, as he will be forced to rotate regularly in order to keep his key players fit and fresh enough to take on all the challenges to come.
Former Arsenal winger Perry Groves has backed his old club to win the title this season. The Emirates Stadium faithful have every reason to believe that that is possible.
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