Tottenham Hotspur were accused of failing in another big game following Saturday’s defeat to Arsenal.
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal was a bad result for Tottenham Hotspur for several reasons.
Not only did Spurs surrender the North London impetus that has been their’s for much of the last three years, and fall further behind Manchester City in the title race, they lost another game against a top-six rival.
Their only three Premier League defeats this season have come against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, and pundits such as Gary Lineker feel that this record is holding Spurs back from really competiting.
While recent results in big games have not gone Tottenham’s way, their record against the top six since the beginning of the 2015-16 season reflects quite well on them compared to some of their title-chasing counterparts.
During this time, Spurs have collected 30 points against top-six opposition, which is more than Arsenal and Manchester City, and as many as Manchester United. Only Liverpool (37) and Chelsea (34) have won more.
Tottenham are also the only club to have beaten all other members of the top six in the Premier League since the start of last season, and added European champions Real Madrid to this list of scalps earlier this month.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s away record against their fellow elite does leave room for improvement – one win from 17 matches – but only Liverpool collected more than four points from trips to top-six opposition last season.
Spurs managed two points from five games, which is more than Arsenal and the same as United.
Tottenham’s struggles in big games are comparative to all of their rivals. When they suffer worse is when Harry Kane is not playing or fully fit – as was the case in the defeats to United and Arsenal this season. That, is not a myth.
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