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LONDON. – Gareth Bale was moving from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid. Mesut Ozil was travelling in the opposite direction to Arsenal. The Emirates was largely paid for. Tottenham were not even settled on a definite location for their new home. Andre Villas-Boas was in the dying days of his Spurs reign. Arsene Wenger would soon win the FA Cup and sign a new three-year contract…
It was September 1, 2013, and Arsenal were also completing the first in a hat-trick of head-to-head wins that season. So how are Tottenham now 17 points clear of their bitter rivals and what lessons can Arsenal learn?
The first step was identifying and then hiring Mauricio Pochettino. He might have spoken little English when he first arrived in England at Southampton but you could still instantly sense something of an X-Factor. There was snow in Hampshire that day but warmth radiated off him as soon as he walked into the room.
A connection was instantly forged with the players and the high-pressing style of football that is now so associated with Spurs was evident. Pochettino is now almost identical in age to Wenger when he first joined Arsenal in 1996 and stands as an alluring advert for those advocating managerial change.
It is still not such an open and shut case. The chances of unearthing another Pochettino are slight and Wenger could point out that, as well as besting all previous 10 Spurs managers, he has still finished above Pochettino’s teams two out of three times.
He could yet also add a third trophy this season in the time the Argentinian has worked in England without silverware.- The Telegraph.
Online Reporter