Every season, the Premier League wonders if this may be it, the North London derby when Tottenham Hotspur at last unseat Arsenal.
It feels even a slightly strange question to ask given the euphoria that has surrounded Arsenal of late, with their three straight wins and the discovery of Francis Coquelin, and yet if Tottenham win at White Hart Lane on Saturday, they will go above Arsenal in the table and move in to fourth place.
In a season in which so many of the contenders for Uefa Champions League places have underperformed – the year of mass transition – Tottenham’s emergence as potential top-four finishers has come almost unnoticed.
Certainly Arsenal’s recent surge has been far more eye-catching, yet Tottenham have won six of their past eight games, losing only to Crystal Palace away.
That was the first league game after the 5-3 win over leaders Chelsea on January 1 and was, understandably, widely seen as being typical of the club.
Tottenham complain about their stereotype as flaky underachievers and yet they keep living up to it, although, in other ways, this is a Tottenham side beginning to change their spots.
The general perception among opposing players last season was that Southampton were the fittest team they had faced.
Various Tottenham players this season have spoken of how long their Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino, who came from Southampton in the summer, has them performing conditioning work on the training field.
The effectiveness of the work is clear: seven times this season Tottenham have won games in the final 10 minutes (eight if you include the League Cup semi-final against Sheffield United when Christian Eriksen scored a late equaliser in the second leg that was the winner in the tie).
But that is only part of it. Tottenham – rather more slowly than Southampton did – have adapted to the Pochettino method.
They press hard and high when out of possession, dropping back into a tight defensive shape if the initial press does not win possession. Wherever they end up this season, as Pochettino remodels his squad, there should be optimism for next year. At last there is a sense of continuity about the club, a sense that it has found a road map to a future that more accurately reflects their expenditure and expectation than the floundering of the past two or three seasons.
But however positive the future looks, Tottenham could suddenly be in a position to do something now.
Southampton are faltering, Liverpool are in fine form but are two points back, and Arsenal, for all that they have won their last three league games by a combined scored of 10-0, are still more than capable of inconsistency, especially if their injury list mounts again.
Just as Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott have returned, so Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have succumbed to injuries.
The liveliness and invention of Sanchez in particular will be a miss on Saturday.
Tottenham, remarkably for this stage of the season, have a full squad to choose from – further evidence of the effectiveness of Pochettino’s conditioning work.
Nabil Bentaleb is back from the African Cup of Nations and will probably take his place in midfield.
They even, slightly mystifyingly, have Emmanuel Adebayor available after a deadline day move to West Ham United was blocked.
“The past was difficult for him and always it is difficult to come back again, to recover the confidence and the best level to compete,” Pochettino said, hinting Adebayor will be on the bench for Saturday’s game against his former club.
This could be a last chance for the forward, who has been in wretched form this season after a brief flickering under Tim Sherwood last year, an act of pragmatism based on the fact that the only forwards in the Tottenham squad are Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado.
That is something that needs resolving in the summer, when it is possible Tottenham will have Champions League football as an enticement for potential signings.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow our sports coverage on Twitter @NatSportUAE
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%204-cylinder%202.5-litre%20%2F%202-litre%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20188hp%20%2F%20248hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20244Nm%20%2F%20370Nm%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%207-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh110%2C000%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
More on animal trafficking
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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FIGHT%20CARD
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
