Tottenham have given Arsenal a sizeable head start in the Premier League title chase and Mauricio Pochettino has given his verdict.
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Tottenham Hotspur would have to pull off something of a minor miracle if they are to usurp Arsenal and win the Premier League title.
The gap is currently eight points but Spurs are only two points away from second place in what has been a strange season so far in that everyone appears to be beating everyone, apart from the other North London giant.
An unbeaten run would see any team emerge from the pack and cement their place in the top four and there is no reason why Thomas Frank can’t be the manager who leads the fight back.
Mauricio Pochettino on Tottenham’s hopes for the season
Asked what Spurs were capable of this season, former boss Maurcio Pochettino told talkSPORT: “It's very open. I think the most solid team today about result and performance is Arsenal. Mikel Arteta is doing an amazing job, and is the most regular and solid team so far, but it's really open. You can see the table, you can see different teams that they are fighting for the top four. And I think it's really, really open. It's very a question mark.
“We'll see how the evolution is on the Premier League, but everything is open.”
Pochettino is right in that Arsenal are the most consistent and most organised team in the league so far this season with every other side unable to get close on a weekly basis. Spurs have shown glimpses of what they are capable of but still have a long way to go to match their rivals.
Do Spurs have the foundation to challenge Arsenal?
Despite the gap at the top of the table, Spurs have two players who Frank can build his team on and who, according to Jamie O’Hara, are every bit as good, if not better than the much-vaunted Arsenal centre-half pairing.
"The reason being, Arsenal defensively are incredible as a unit, as a team. Spurs are not," O'Hara said while speaking on Sky Sports as Real Madrid keep tabs on Van de Ven.
"But the two centre halves are absolutely fantastic. If you were going to take two of them out and put two of them in, I think Van de Ven has more about him than Gabriel. I think Romero is on par Saliba. There is not a centre half in the world that can do what Van de Ven did last night [goal vs Copenhagen]. Gabriel cannot score that goal. They are all world class but I think Arsenal are better defensively as a unit to Tottenham."
Arsenal’s midfield is more settled than Spurs’ in that they know what to do if someone drops out without any difference in quality if players are rotated. Frank doesn’t have that depth at his disposal yet, but his starting XI is more than good enough to compete, if he manages to sign Ivan Toney, the gap might just be easier to close.