Igor Tudor has chance to strike as unsavoury Arsenal footage emerges before Tottenham showdown
Tottenham are looking to right the wrongs of November’s North London derby when they host Arsenal on Sunday.
Eberechi Eze netted a hat-trick at the Emirates in a 4-1 rout against Spurs in the reverse fixture, rather summing up Thomas Frank’s time at the club.
Igor Tudor has been placed in charge for the rest of the season, after the Croatian guided Juventus to a Champions League spot last term.
Rivals Arsenal still sit at the top of the Premier League, though they dropped points late on against bottom-dwellers Wolves on Wednesday, handing Manchester City the chance to move within touching distance should they win their game in hand.
Arsenal have picked up just two points out of a possible six in recent weeks, and Tottenham fans will be licking their lips ahead of Sunday’s North London derby.
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Arsenal showed vulnerabilities vs Wolves that Spurs can capitalise on
Goals from Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie saw Arsenal carry a 2-0 lead heading into the final 30 minutes, before Wolves became the first-ever side at the bottom of the table to avoid defeat against the league leaders despite trailing by 2+ goals.
Hugo Bueno’s long-range effort would halve the deficit, before a Tom Edozie strike prompted a Ricardo Califiori own goal – leaving Arsenal vulnerable heading into Sunday.
Tensions following the final whistle showcased exactly what the dropped points meant for Arsenal, who are continuing to see their gap at the top cut.
While there is always pressure heading into the derby, most of it now lies on the shoulders of Arsenal, who are ever so desperate for their first league title since 2004.
Much to the amusement of Spurs fans, Arsenal have had multiple near misses in recent years, and supporters are beginning to sniff the chance of this happening again.
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Igor Tudor has an instant opportunity to cement a legacy
Tottenham fans, and fans of Arsenal’s rivals will be hoping that the old adage of ‘new manager bounce’ applies on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side make the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium wounded after dropping points against both Brentford and Wolves within the space of a week.
Tudor has arrived at the club with a job to do – guide Spurs to safety. A win against their rivals on Sunday would not only give them the momentum to go on and do exactly that, it would also leave Arsenal further vulnerable to Manchester City, who face Newcastle at the Etihad on Saturday evening.
During his time at Juventus, Tudor gained a reputation as more of a firefighter than someone to build the club around – as showcased by his subsequent sacking earlier this season.
But he was capable of galvanising the Old Lady and cleaning up the mess following Thiago Motta’s poor spell at the helm.
This is what he has been brought to Spurs to do, and he has a fantastic chance to cement his place in the history books at the club already through a win that would mean so much at both ends of the table.
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