Gareth Bale deserves a bit of credit for turning around his fortunes at Tottenham Hotspur.
Up until a few weeks ago, it looked as if Spurs had made a big mistake in re-signing the Welshman on a season-long loan.
It was probably the biggest transfer of last summer in terms of profile, but Bale was simply not delivering.
That being said, the 31-year-old has well and truly found his feet at long last.
Bale has scored six goals for Tottenham over the last few weeks – four in the Premier League, two in the Europa League – and fans of the North London club will be hoping he can maintain this purple patch when Jose Mourinho’s side visit Arsenal in this afternoon’s derby.
Quite a lot of pundits have criticised him this season, but Chris Sutton has conceded that he looks a completely different player these days.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I have to say, he’s looking a different player, isn’t he? He looks up to speed with his fitness, he’s looking powerful and strong. It looks like we all thought the Gareth Bale that Spurs had signed, he was going to hit the ground running. It hasn’t happened.“
If you’re an Arsenal player, you have to be worried about Bale this evening.
Not only is he a brilliant player, but he has form for scoring in North London derbies and that fact, coupled with his performances as of late, means Mikel Arteta will have to devise a plan to keep him on a very, very short leash.
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