Premier League Roundup - 10 thoughts and get your calendar ready for St Totteringham's Day 2023
The title and relegation fights gained more clarity in this round
I will have a full piece on Spurs’ failings in the few week, but to be quick on the matter I have not been impressed with Antonio Conte tactically at all - while his teams may run more and be fitter than anyone else in Europe, time and again selection errors and a static shape have led to Tottenham falling behind in matches. The fact, that in many of those cases Spurs have rescued a result owes itself to heavy spending leading to having a superior bench than most opponents, not in any way to Conte’s tactical acumen. The lack of intensity in high-pressing is also striking for Spurs, and a rarity among top sides in England these days and very different than circa 2015-19 Spurs. It feels like everything Mauricio Pochettino built is being gradually betrayed. Again much more on this soon.
Arsenal show no signs of slowing down. Before the season when I tweeted that Arsenal had the most complete team in the Premier League , I was laughed at. But not having faith in my own instincts in the wake of the reaction, I unwisely then said Liverpool would win the title, probably by 7-10 points. The title isn’t won for Arsenal yet, Manchester City have a history of surging after Christmas (in fact City are the only side to win the Premier League in the last 15 seasons when not top-of-table at Christmas, and they’ve done it three times! ) but still Arsenal must be runaway favorites right now. Buyako Saka is the best English player at the moment. And whether Arsenal win the title or not, they are now nailed on to finish ahead of Spurs for the first time in seven seasons, so St Totteringham’s Day will return for the first time since the final day of the 2015-16 season, when Arsenal passed Spurs in the table to end that season.
Are any of us surprised that Unai Emery has turned Aston Villa around so quickly? Steven Gerrard was over-his-head in the job, and while Villa’s excessive spending has included a lot of vanity buys and repetitive players (why buy Phillip Coutino when you have a younger Emi Buendia? Why buy Danny Ings when you have Ollie Watkins? ) the parts are there, for a master craftsman like Emery who has previously molded tier two sides like Sevilla and Villarreal sides into serial winners. Maybe PSG and Arsenal weren’t his station, he belongs at the next tier of clubs. Emery is the right fit and it’s exciting to contemplate what he might be able to do with some time at Villa. It also speaks volumes about the club that he left Vilarreal less than six months after being in the UEFA Champions League semifinal to manage a struggling Villa side.
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