The New York Times

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero is available for Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Chelsea, while head coach Thomas Frank says Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie are also fit.

Romero has missed four consecutive matches across the league, Champions League and Carabao Cup after being pulled out of the pre-match warm-up against Aston Villa on October 19 with an adductor injury.

Odobert was a surprise omission from Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Wednesday, with Frank later confirming he was unavailable due to a minor side strain, while Udogie has been out of action since picking up a knee injury on international duty with Italy earlier this month.

“(Cristian) Romero, Destiny (Udogie) and Wilson (Odobert) are available for selection tomorrow,” Frank said in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. “If (Romero) was fit enough, he would have been involved Wednesday. He’s ready to be involved tomorrow. Let’s see how much.”

After scoring his first career brace in Tottenham’s 3-0 win over Everton last Sunday, Micky van de Ven sat out their mid-week defeat to Newcastle. Kevin Danso, who has deputised excellently in Romero’s absence, played the full match alongside Joao Palhinha in central defence.

On the other end of the pitch, Frank said Dominic Solanke, who has only featured twice this season, will not return before the November international break.

“We’re very aware that when we get Dom back, we hopefully, touch wood, have him back and no setbacks,” Frank said. “We are very aware of doing it the right way. It’s going in the right direction, he will not be available before the international break. So that’s the status right now.”

Tottenham are not in good form against Chelsea, losing four straight games under previous head coach Ange Postecoglou. Still, Frank is looking forward to his first London derby at home as Spurs boss.

“Very exciting,” he said. “Really looking forward to it. It’s a London derby between two big rivals. There’s so much on it, against a very good Chelsea team. It will be a very, very competitive even game under the floodlights. It’s got everything to be a top game where you will be on the edge of your seat hopefully.

“We need to come flying out and get the fans with us. I’m very, very positive about us coming out and performing very well tomorrow.”

Mikel Arteta says he is hopeful that Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz could return from injury in time to face Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on November 23, providing the Arsenal squad with a “huge boost”.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Burnley on Saturday, Arteta said: “I’m excited because they are tremendous players. I see them work every single day, how desperate they are to be part of the team.

“The huge boost that is going to be for the squad to have and those players again, after such a long, long time, so really happy that I think it’s going to be very soon.”

Havertz underwent surgery for a knee injury in August, while Madueke went off injured against Manchester City in September.

Club captain Odegaard suffered a medial collateral ligament injury against West Ham in early October. Arteta declined to be more specific in terms of individual timelines, but believes the trio are all edging closer to a return. Arsenal are also hopeful that Gabriel Jesus will not be too far behind.

“I would say weeks, and some of them pretty soon, hopefully, if they keep evolving the way they are doing,” Arteta added.

“It’s difficult to put a game, you know — we have the international break, which is a two-week break there. And after that, I think we’ll have some back. I don’t know if it’s going to be all of them or some of them, but we’ll be quite close by then.”

There was less positive news on Gabriel Martinelli, who has been ruled out of the trip to Burnley. “This game is going to come too early,” confirmed Arteta.

William Saliba, who missed the midweek Carabao Cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion, could be in contention for a place. “We have to wait and see,” Arteta said.

Arteta is anticipating a tough test for the Premier League leaders at Turf Moor.

“The game against Burnley is going to be really tough,” the Arsenal manager warned. “They are extremely well-coached, and Scott (Parker) has done really well with the club and with this team. It’s formidable and when you look at all the games, five of the last games that they played, they showed they are a very, very tough team to beat.”

Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace – but the tie is facing severe scheduling issues due to Palace’s participation in the Conference League.

Arsenal’s preference is to play the tie, as scheduled, on Tuesday, December 16, which would leave Palace facing four games in eight days but Christmas Eve is another option.

The English Football League (EFL), which runs the Carabao Cup, is in conversation with all relevant stakeholders, including both clubs, over the scheduling of the tie.

“Every decision that we make in terms of a fixture has to be guided on two main things: players’ welfare and then supporters,” said Arteta. “That’s it. And the rest has to come very, very far away from that. And we should never forget that principle. That’s the only thing I would say.”

If you want a good example of how Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur are an unusual team, having an unusual season, try this simple experiment. Take their nine Premier League games so far and rank them in order, from best to worst.

At the top you will probably have the 2-0 win at Manchester City and Sunday’s 3-0 win at Everton. Then the wins at West Ham United and Leeds United. At the bottom would be the defeat to Bournemouth, then the defeat to Aston Villa and the 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, although you may want to switch the order of those two around.

But the pattern would be clear. The best three or four games would all be away from home. The worst three, certainly, would all be at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Now, you may argue here that it is too early in the season to draw big conclusions. The samples are too small. The fixture computer has too much weight. Maybe that is right. In the Champions League, Spurs have won their one home game (Villarreal) and drawn both away (Bodo/Glimt and Monaco). In the League Cup they breezed past Doncaster at home and then lost 2-0 away to Newcastle United on Wednesday night.

But take a step back and you can see that this is a real trend. And not one that just started this summer either. Look back over the last year and Tottenham’s home record in the league is pitiful. Over the last year — a run starting with the 4-1 win over Aston Villa on 3 November 2024 — Spurs have played 19 home league games. They have won just four of them: Villa, Manchester United and Southampton under Ange Postecoglou, and Burnley under Frank at the start of this season. They have drawn four and lost 11, meaning they have taken 16 points from 57 available at home.

You can compare this record with the other 16 teams who have been in the Premier League both this and last season. Over the last year, Spurs average 0.84 points per home league game. Only West Ham United, with 0.78, average less (by way of comparison, every other team averages at least one point per home game, six teams average at least two, and Liverpool average 2.42). Tottenham’s home win rate of 21 per cent is the second worst, only ahead of West Ham on 17 per cent. And only 33 per cent (four out of 12) of Spurs’ league wins in the last year have come at home. The only other team with such a low percentage is, of course, West Ham.

If Spurs are to achieve anything this season, this has to change. They have been carried so far this season by their away form: four wins and one draw, the best away record in the league by a distance. And as luck would have it, their three remaining games before the November international break are all at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Chelsea this Saturday evening. FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night. And then Manchester United next Saturday lunchtime.

Who knows, they could finish with three rousing wins, and then all of this will look like worrying about nothing. But what if they continue in this way? Trying to build a competitive team who rarely ever win home games is an impossible job. You might as well be trying to build a car without wheels.

The fascinating question is why. Tottenham have the best stadium in the country. How can it possibly be one of the easiest grounds to go and play at? The only Premier League ground easier to win at is West Ham’s London Stadium, which as we all know was built to host the 2012 London Olympics, where it is nearly impossible to generate an atmosphere, and where some fans are so far from the action they may as well bring binoculars.

But the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was meant to be different, and better than everyone else’s home. The club spent roughly £1.2billion building it. They moved to Wembley for a season and a half to make it possible. This is a stadium with every technological advantage, big bright screens and deafening loudspeakers. It has a famously steep south stand, modelled on Borussia Dortmund’s ‘Yellow Wall’. It is visually spectacular, lit up on a dark night. And yet increasingly, teams know they can just show up there and turn Spurs over.

You could look for a footballing explanation. Tottenham’s league record over the last year has not been especially good overall, the result mainly of Postecoglou prioritising the Europa League from the halfway point of last season. His gamble paid off, but it came at a price: 22 league defeats, 17th place, and his dismissal as manager in June.

More specifically, Tottenham have not played a brand of football over the last year conducive to dominating games at home. ‘Angeball’ was effectively wound down last Christmas and replaced with a more conservative game. Frank’s football has its strengths but it is essentially reactive. It is no coincidence that Spurs are much better this year away from home when they are not expected to have the ball.

But the football explanations cannot tell the whole story. You would still expect, over the course of a year, Tottenham’s higher quality of player to tell. It feels as if there is something specific to the stadium itself that makes it easier to play in, that does not intimidate the visiting team like it should. Perhaps it is the plush quality of the facilities. Visiting teams remark that the away dressing room at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the biggest and best in the league. That in itself does not explain everything, but there is a sense that the stadium is so modern, so comfortable, so forward-looking, that it lacks some of the competitive edge and tension that old grounds — not least White Hart Lane — had in spades.

The sad fact is that there is a problem with the atmosphere at the stadium. That has been true for some time but it feels like it is getting worse rather than better. Almost six and a half years since moving in, the stadium has yet to fully find its voice. There have been some great nights along the way — Manchester City in the Champions League in 2019, Arsenal in 2022 as the two teams hunted for fourth place, Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals last season — but they have been few and far between. Even in recent home games when Spurs have taken an early lead — Villarreal and Aston Villa — the atmosphere has then gone flat.

There is certainly a ‘chicken and egg’ element to this question. The team would be better if the atmosphere was better, and the atmosphere would be better if the team was better. Frank knows this himself. Before the Aston Villa game, he said that he wanted the stadium to be “a fortress” but knew that both the team and the crowd had to work together.

“It cannot only be the team, it cannot only be the fans,” Frank said in a press conference. “It needs to be both. We need to bring energy to each other. We need to work unbelievably hard, perform well, try to be positive — but also need a little bit of help. Every game goes a little bit up and down. You have good spells, bad spells. We need the fans, especially in the tough moments. The better they can be behind the team, the better it will be.”

One theory is that for so much of last season the atmosphere was defined by negativity, as fans voiced their opposition to Daniel Levy, and to the combination of high ticket prices and perceived lack of ambition for the team. The anti-Levy songs were more widespread than ever, and the protest marches better attended than anything seen at Spurs for years. But Levy was dismissed as chairman last month, and now there is a widespread sense of waiting to see what happens next. Given the profound change at the top of the club, many fans are willing to see what happens in the next transfer window, or with next season’s ticket prices, before making up their minds.

The club is certainly aware of the need to improve the atmosphere, and has been working with the Fan Advisory Board to do so. An Atmosphere Working Group has been set up so club staff can discuss ideas with fan representatives. One idea that is frequently pushed for is a ‘singing section’ at the new ground, to bring fans who want to be vocal together. This was trialled against Roma in the Europa League league phase last season and there are talks about trying it again this season, although it will always face the challenge of requiring existing season ticket holders to be relocated.

There are still other things that can be done. ‘Can’t Smile Without You’ is now always played before kick-off, along with a new video about the club’s history narrated by Sir Kenneth Branagh. Going into this Saturday’s game against Chelsea, there is renewed initiative from both the club and the fans. There will be pitchside ‘pyros’ emitting flames before the kick-off, and perhaps more importantly, the club will turn off the music inside the stadium five and a half minutes before kick-off, giving the fans a chance to make the atmosphere themselves. On Thursday afternoon fans announced online a new campaign — ‘Park Lane for Vocal Fans’ — to bring fans together to make more noise.

There is an acceptance on all sides that the atmosphere must improve, and a hope that if it does then the home form might follow. Four home wins in a year was clearly not the plan when this shining metal bowl was unveiled in 2019. And maybe Chelsea on Saturday, a fixture Spurs have struggled with in recent years, is the right place to start.

Welcome to week 10 of The Athletic’s Premier League predictions challenge, where I find myself wrestling with how to deal with Liverpool’s dramatic slump.

After starting their league title defence with five straight wins, Arne Slot’s team have lost their last four. What was a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table after five games has become a seven-point deficit to Arsenal.

The reasons for that nosedive have been explored and debated in detail. Here on The Athletic, you can read detailed analysis on the struggles of Mohammed Salah, Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, the problems at right-back, the various tactical issues opponents are exploiting and, in a broader sense, the challenges facing Slot after an expensive summer overhaul that seems to have brought more questions than answers.

But this column is simply about trying — and largely failing — to predict the future. In this case, it’s about trying to work out whether, having underestimated the depth of Liverpool’s malaise, we should chase those lost points by belatedly jumping on the Anfield crisis bandwagon or put our faith in the law of averages and tip them to bounce back at home to Aston Villa on Saturday night.

Each week, four of us — a guest subscriber, six-year-old Wilfred, the algorithm and me — are predicting the Premier League results with varying degrees of success.

We’re awarding three points for a correct scoreline and one point for a correct result. There’s also a bonus for any correct “unique” prediction, so as well as nine points for his three correct scorelines last week, Wilf got a bonus point for being the only one to tip Bournemouth to beat Nottingham Forest 2-0. Clever boy.

But nobody predicted Brentford to inflict Liverpool’s fourth consecutive defeat. In fact, looking back, not one of us saw any of those four defeats coming — although the algorithm went for them to draw the last three while the rest of us were tipping them to win.

I sensed vulnerability in Slot’s team at the start of the season, predicting they would lose against Arsenal and Newcastle United because I felt such a major turnover of players would cause teething problems. But they won those first five games, albeit not entirely convincingly, so their slump caught us all by surprise.

It is timely that a Liverpool supporter, Hari, a 34-year-old from south London, is this week’s guest subscriber. He will be looking to build on a fine effort last week by Leeds United fan Andrew, whose eight points (combined with Wilf’s brilliant 10) shook up the table, taking the subscribers back up to second place and leaving me looking nervously over my shoulder after a torrid couple of weeks.

Anyway, over to you, Hari.

Our subscriber’s match of the week

Liverpool vs Aston Villa, Saturday, 8pm UK/4pm ET

Hari says: "Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea has all the ingredients to be a really fun, chaotic contest, but given the pressure that will be on Slot this week and the fact he rested nearly his entire first team in midweek, it’s hard to look past Saturday night’s game between Liverpool and Villa at Anfield. Heart over head — I’m going with 2-1 to LFC."

Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa

Oli says: "On the evening of September 20, Liverpool had 15 points from five games and Villa had two points from four games. Going into this weekend, they are level on points: a 13-point swing over five weeks. Looking back, I kept backing Villa throughout their slump on the simplistic basis that they were stronger than most of the teams they were facing. That’s pretty much where I am with Liverpool. Slot has serious issues to address — structural, tactical, physical and, not least of all, psychological — but I would at least expect a battling performance against Villa and possibly a very tight win.

Liverpool 2-1 Aston Villa

The rest of Oli’s predictions

Crystal Palace vs Brentford

Oli says: As a spectacle, this could be the defining game of the Premier League season. Brentford and Palace are the two teams at the top of the long throw-in table (both for the number attempted and the number of shots arising from them) and only Burnley have a lower pass completion rate. It’s been working very well for both — Brentford have won four of their last five in all competitions — but I wonder if it might be less effective against each other than it was against Liverpool, for example. Palace to shade a war of attrition.

Crystal Palace 1-0 Brentford

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United

United have won three in a row, but here’s something interesting. In their two games against Forest last season, they had 71 per cent and 68 per cent possession — the highest shares in their first 36 Premier League games under Ruben Amorim — and they lost both. Forest have changed their manager twice since then, but it’s safe to say Sean Dyche will be happy to follow the sit-deep-and-hit-them-on-the-break formula that worked for Nuno Espirito Santo last season. It will make an interesting test for United, who, as Amorim has said, still have room for improvement when it comes to controlling games.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Manchester United

Burnley vs Arsenal

Opta’s prediction model puts Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League at 66.9 per cent. I would be inclined to go even higher. It’s not that they are playing brilliantly, but more that their performances have demonstrated a far greater maturity, resilience and focus than anyone else looks capable of. I can see Arsenal extending their lead at the top between now and the November international break. Burnley away is a test, but one I would firmly expect the leaders to take in their stride.

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Leeds United

Hallelujah. I’ve just realised I finally got a Brighton result last week, having predicted them to lose at Manchester United. But I still look at their next five games — Leeds (H), Crystal Palace (A), Brentford (H), Forest (A), Villa (H) — and think they could win or lose any of them. They’re uniquely unpredictable, so it is with great uncertainty that I predict them to beat a decent Leeds team.

Brighton 2-1 Leeds

Fulham vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Fulham have lost their last four, leaving them one place above the relegation zone, but they have a relatively gentle run of games between now and the end of the year — and they don’t come much gentler right now than Wolves at home. This one has a Raul Jimenez respectful non-celebration written all over it. Where that would leave Wolves, other than in big trouble, I don’t know.

Fulham 2-0 Wolves

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea

Chelsea’s record against Tottenham is remarkable. Between 1989 and 2006, they were unbeaten in 32 league matches against their London rivals. Even in more recent years, they've won 13 of their last 17 clashes in all competitions, scoring four on each of their past two visits. They won’t score four on Saturday evening, but they might have the tools to stretch a Spurs defence that has looked decent. I won’t be playing the high-scoring-draw card very often this season, but this could be one.

Tottenham 2-2 Chelsea

West Ham United vs Newcastle United

Even if I close my eyes and try to get my imagination working, I can’t work out what a West Ham home win looks like at the moment. Their last one came in February against a doomed Leicester City. Since then, it’s no wins, three draws and six defeats in the last nine at London Stadium. How is that one-paced midfield going to cope with the formidable Newcastle trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton? I don’t think it will. Away win, with empty seats and a lot of agitation at the final whistle.

West Ham 0-2 Newcastle

Manchester City vs Bournemouth

There are times when Pep Guardiola seems to lay it on a little too thick when praising opposition coaches, but his respect for the “incredible” Andoni Iraola is entirely genuine. City have won 17 of their 18 meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions, but that one defeat, at the Vitality Stadium this time last year, made a real impression on Guardiola. I fancy City, purely for the Erling Haaland factor, but it looks like an intriguing match-up.

Manchester City 3-1 Bournemouth

Sunderland vs Everton

David Moyes has not been back on the touchline at the Stadium of Light since his unhappy spell in charge of Sunderland ended in relegation in 2017. He might struggle to recognise the place on Monday night, given how upbeat it will feel. Sunderland's 17 points from their first nine games is a remarkable feat for a promoted team. How long can they keep defying gravity? A little longer, I fancy.

Sunderland 1-0 Everton

Alfie Whiteman was never your typical footballer.

As Tottenham Hotspur’s third-, fourth- or latterly fifth-choice goalkeeper, the prospects of making an impact for his boyhood club on the pitch were slim. So, in his free time, he channelled his energy into different passions: taking acting classes, developing his skills as a photographer and hosting a monthly radio show where the listed genres are folk, indie rock, leftfield pop and dream pop.

And while his team-mates whisked into the training ground in supercars, he travelled on public transport.

After leaving Spurs as a free agent this summer, he expected to continue his career, perhaps lower down the English football pyramid or abroad, where he would have the chance to prove himself as a No 1.

However, despite receiving concrete interest from clubs as high as the English Championship, Whiteman decided to quietly retire from the game on his own terms this summer at just 26, just months after winning the Europa League.

Whiteman is beginning a new career as a budding photographer and film director signed to Somesuch, a global production company with offices in London and Los Angeles. It is the studio behind Harris Dickinson’s directorial feature film debut ‘Urchin’ and Aneil Karia’s ‘The Long Goodbye’, winner of the Oscar for Best Live Action Short at the 2022 Academy Awards.

While it was not an easy decision, it has been years in the making.

“I signed for Spurs at 10 years old,” Whiteman tells The Athletic over a jug of lemonade at a cocktail bar in east London. “Then I left school at 16 and went straight into this full-time life of football. When I was around 17 or 18, living in digs, I just had this feeling inside of, ‘Is this it?’ Getting on the mini bus, going to training, doing the Sports Science BTEC (he also did an A Level in Economics) and going home to play video games. I realised, ‘Oh, I’m not happy here’ from quite a young age.

“The stereotype of a footballer is generally quite true. It’s the golf, washbag culture. I was that young footballer. I wanted the Gucci washbag and I drove the Mercedes. You all just become a reflection of each other. You’re a product of your environment. It’s the way football is in this country; it’s so shut off from anything else. You go to training and then you go home, that’s it.

“I guess I always felt a little bit different. My team-mates — who I got on well with — called me a hippie. That was their definition. But then, when I was 18, I met my ex-girlfriend, who was a model. She was a bit older than me. Her best friend was a director. It just started opening my eyes to what life has to offer.

“So as I was getting a bit older around 18 or 19, I started meeting new people and realising a bit more about myself, and understanding the football bubble, because it’s so insular.”

Stuck behind internationals Hugo Lloris, Michel Vorm and Joe Hart in the goalkeeping pecking order, Whiteman continued training hard with the hope of one day representing Spurs as a professional or developing elsewhere on loan. Meanwhile, he was mixing with new crowds in his free time and making friends within the creative industry. On his days off, producers, directors and photographers invited him to assist them as a runner on set. While he expected it would happen well into his 30s, Whiteman was consciously setting himself up for a life after football.

“Football is a short career regardless, even if you do really well, and I knew that I didn’t want to stay in it,” says Whiteman. “It was about trying to gain experience and be proactive in learning about these things I was also interested in, but mainly because I was enjoying it, and was surrounded by the kinds of people that were doing what I enjoyed as a job. They were making things. It was really inspiring.”

Whiteman made one appearance for Tottenham as a second-half substitute in a Europa League match under Jose Mourinho before moving on loan to Degerfors in Sweden in 2021. There, he had the opportunity to play frequently and build form on the pitch, making 34 appearances across an 18-month period in Sweden’s top flight. Living in a small cabin in the woods, Whiteman spent large amounts of his time alone, exploring his feelings through art.

“I learned a lot,” he says. “I was in a new environment, in nature. I’ve got this exhibition coming up in spring about a body of work I did while I was there, which is all these self-portraits and weird things. I never planned it to be, but it served as this period of introspection. I look at the work now, and these feelings of being a bit lost or torn are in it. That was in 2022, so it’s always been there.”

He returned to Spurs determined to make an impact and signed a two-year extension in 2023. Under new coach Ange Postecoglou, Whiteman played and trained well in pre-season, but his progress was halted after sustaining an ankle injury in Singapore, which would keep him out for most of the season. His ‘Sweet Tooth’ show on NTS, a radio channel founded in east London in 2011 focusing on eclectic music from around the world, served as a creative outlet through the toil of recuperation. Reflecting on the injury now, Whiteman sees it as a sliding doors moment.

“It was a kind of freak injury, causing me to miss most of the season, where a new manager comes in,” says Whiteman. “So I was immediately in this bad situation. But during that rehab, I worked so hard every day to try to get back. I eventually did, but even then, it was just to be sat in the stands. It was so hard applying myself and really trying and then just not getting the games.

“That’s where you show the work you’re doing. Otherwise, the training and stuff, it’s all repetitive and in the shadows. It’s like f***ing Groundhog Day. Tottenham have an incredible training ground with incredible facilities, and I was working with the best players. But it wasn’t fulfilling. I want to be in a high-pressure game, or feel progress. When you’re not playing, it’s very difficult to do. It’s even worse, it’s more like you’re regressing.”

Whiteman, who represented England at the under-17 World Cup in 2015, made it clear to the Tottenham hierarchy after recovering from his injury in summer 2024 that he would like to leave the club on loan to explore first-team opportunities. But with Spurs short on club-trained players for their upcoming Europa League campaign (clubs are required to involve four players developed in their own academy for UEFA competition), the club would not sanction a move away.

He describes the lack of control as “frustrating”. The season ended with Spurs winning the Europa League, with Whiteman collecting a winners’ medal and circling through Tottenham, the neighbourhood in which he grew up, on a bus in the parade.

“My house is two minutes from the stadium,” says Whiteman. “I used to walk to the home games. So the bus goes past my road, my sister, my best friend who lives at the house with me, they’re there waving from my street. I spotted a girl who goes to the youth centre that I was volunteering at; I did her headshots because she wants to be an actor. I was like, ‘Hey!’ And she was there in disbelief like, ‘What are you doing on the bus?’ It was funny.”

Whiteman went on trial at two clubs in the English Football League in the summer. The first, a League One side, could not offer a contract due to financial issues. He then went on trial with a Championship club, who offered him an initial six-month contract as a No 2. However, by the time the contract offer came, he had decided professional football was no longer for him.

“There was a weekend when I went home, and I started contemplating all my options,” says Whiteman. “I had other things I’ve been building on the side and it was more exciting to me. To put it plainly, I saw happiness in these other avenues.

“It got to this point where I’d rather end this on my terms than go to a club that I just didn’t want to go to. When I was younger, I always said I didn’t want to play in the lower leagues; it was always about the highest level. Otherwise, I’d rather do something else. So I just took this step into the unknown, and I was like, ‘Oh, holy s***. I’m actually doing it.’ Anything can happen. I’m in complete control of my life, and it’s really exciting and really scary.”

Within days of calling his agent to inform him of his decision, Whiteman was on set with fashion photographer Harley Weir and British rapper Central Cee for a Nike shoot. He later travelled to Norway and Ukraine to help his friend Aria Shahrokhshahi film a feature documentary. In between, he was getting in contact with people in the industry and introducing himself over coffee.

“I ended up going to assist my friend for this photography job for Vibram (a footwear company known for their ‘five finger’ shoes) at the World Toe Wrestling Championships,” says Whiteman. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll come hold the lights!’ And the day before that shoot, they asked for a video, too, so I was like, ‘I’ll do it. I’ll do it!’

“There was no budget or brief, nothing. I turned up with him on the day and ran around with my camera, and then took it to an editor, sat with him, and made this thing and it got posted.”

The short film was a critical success, earning a five-star review from David Reviews, a prominent outlet within the short-form content space. Within weeks, he was signed to Somesuch as a professional film and commercial director.

“Somesuch have their film and commercials departments and I do photography,” says Whiteman. “I’ve got project ideas for photo stuff and short film ideas. The plan is to do some short films, and then hopefully one day a feature-length. But there are no real strict steps. You can decide. I just want to be on set and work with some of the most talented cinematographers, DoPs (directors of photography), producers and meet new people. There’s just so much to learn.”

While he has not watched any football since his retirement, he’s not turning his back on the game completely. He has ideas for films based on next summer’s World Cup in North America, and is excited to pick up the gloves again soon — without any of the politics of the industry attached.

“I’m really excited to go and play on a Wednesday night with my mates,” he says. “I’ve had a load of friends inquiring! I just enjoy playing football with my friends. It’s pure.”

Since becoming Tottenham Hotspur head coach this summer, Thomas Frank has reminded everyone at the club of the value of set pieces.

Following on from Ange Postecoglou, who disparingly compared them to rugby scrums, Spurs’ efficiency and ingenuity from corner kicks is a significant reason why they are sitting third in the Premier League. Defender Micky van de Ven, who bagged the first brace of his professional career in the 3-0 away win to Everton on Sunday, is Spurs’ leading scorer this season, with all four of his goals coming from or shortly after a set piece. But they’re also among the best in the league at defending them.

Frank and set-piece coach Andreas Georgson approach dead-ball situations as if it were a science, paying attention to every detail, zone and player to maximise their chances of success. The moment the structure, developed and refined in training, has a piece missing, the arrangement can collapse — which is precisely what happened for Newcastle United’s first in a 2-0 defeat on Tuesday night.

Leading up to the decisive corner, the referee allowed Djed Spence to take his boot off and adjust his laces around 10 yards from Sandro Tonali, who was setting up to take a corner kick. It was not the first time the England international had issues with his boots in the first half, attempting to alter them on multiple occasions during brief stoppages, suggesting there may have been an issue with the fit from the opening whistle.

With jeers becoming louder from the home support at St. James’ Park, and having given Spence over 40 seconds to adjust the boot, referee Chris Kavanagh signalled to Tonali to take the corner. The Spurs defender was still on the floor. As Tonali began his short run-up, Spence had yet to get back into position. By the time Fabian Schar had powered his header past Antonin Kinsky in the Spurs goal, Spence was around five or six yards from the position he assumed in the previous defensive corner.

“I feel it’s harsh on Spurs,” pundit Jobi McAnuff, who played for West Ham United and Crystal Palace among others over a 21-year professional career, said on British broadcaster Sky Sports.

“He’s playing an important part in terms of where that ball is going to be delivered. That is where Djed Spence would be. I feel like the referee should have given him a little bit more time to get in. I know there’s going to be an argument against that.”

Immediately after Schar put Newcastle in front, Frank directed his frustration towards the fourth official. He later confirmed Spence was responsible for marking the goalscorer.

“I think the first was a mistake from Chris (Kavanagh), the ref, because he didn’t allow Djed time to come back in, which he clearly should have done,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s supposed to mark Schar, who scored. So I think that was the first mistake.

“It’s very, very rarely I comment on any decision, but this we need to comment (on) because it was completely common sense.”

In this age, where set pieces seem to reign supreme — 19 per cent of all goals in England’s top-flight this season have been scored from corners (45 of 241), the highest share in Premier League history — does Frank have a point? There is no rule that Kavanagh violated in giving Spence time to get into position, and it would be plausible to suggest that the 46.5 seconds (timed by Sky) it took for Spence to sort his boot and get back into position was more than enough.

But in the interests of fair play, Newcastle, who have scored four goals from set pieces this season in the league (one fewer than Spurs), may not have been entirely pleased if the proverbial boot was on the other foot. In a game settled by fine margins, the referee’s decision to wave play on left Spurs at a significant disadvantage. This was punished by Eddie Howe’s side.

What few can dispute, however, is that Tottenham were deservedly beaten on the night. Before Schar profited from the breakdown in Spurs’ set-piece structure, Newcastle had already sliced through their defence from open play on several occasions.

It took Newcastle’s opener to wake them into action, but there were moments in the aftermath where Tottenham’s forwards and midfielders connected in a way they have struggled to do for much of the season. In the 4-4-2 structure, which occasionally resembled the 4-2-2-2 popularised by the Red Bull football group, it’s perhaps no surprise that Xavi Simons appeared to come alive, receiving the ball in pockets and showing glimpses of the talent fans were anticipating when he arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer.

As inverted No 10s, Simons and Lucas Bergvall were involved, fluid and as likely as anyone to create a moment of magic — something that has been lacking from Spurs in open play for much of the season.

“I think the way we played the game in how we built from behind in phase one and especially in phase two, I think we controlled the game much more,” Frank said. “I think we had some short connections in the middle of the pitch. I think we found Lucas (Bergvall) and Xavi (Simons) in good positions. I think it was one of our better offensive performances of the season. It was not like we created 500 per cent chances, but we created some really big chances.”

Unfortunately, Guglielmo Vicario was not around to deliver an inspired performance to keep them in the game, with backup Kinsky at fault for Newcastle’s second, which ultimately killed the tie and Spurs’ hopes of adding another trophy to their cabinet.

But Spence and Spurs have left with a lesson that might prove as valuable moving forward: make sure your boots are tied and snug before you step onto the pitch.

Carabao Cup holders Newcastle United reached the quarter-finals of this season’s competition after easing past Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at St James’ Park.

Newcastle took the lead when Fabian Schar headed in from a corner on 24 minutes, though Spurs protested that Djed Spence had not been given time to take up his defensive position after tying his lace by the corner flag.

In a lively first half, both teams created chances and Harvey Barnes could have scored twice, with Newcastle eventually doubling their lead five minutes into the second half when Woltemade headed in after Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky misjudged a cross.

Aaron Ramsdale, in goal for Newcastle, saved well to deny Pape Matar Sarr’s low drive from the edge of the box and while both sides made changes in pursuit of goals, Eddie Howe’s team held firm.

Newcastle, who have not been behind in a Carabao Cup game since losing the 2023 final to Manchester United, will now continue in pursuit of a third final in four years with a home tie against Fulham in mid-December.

Here, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh and Elias Burke explain the key talking points.

Is the Carabao Cup Newcastle’s competition?

Some of the key personnel may have changed, including the striker who is putting the ball in the back of the net, but this very much remains Newcastle’s competition under Eddie Howe’s tutelage.

Only once, in 19 matches spread across four seasons, have Newcastle lost in normal time in the Carabao Cup. And that was their 2-0 final defeat against Manchester United in 2023. They have not trailed in a match in this competition since, being knocked out by Chelsea on penalties in 2023-24 before lifting the trophy last season.

For the fourth year in succession under Howe, Newcastle have reached the last eight, and they have beaten all of the so-called ‘Big Six’ now in this competition. In Arsenal’s case, twice.

Alexander Isak, the scorer of the winning goal in March’s final, may have deserted Newcastle, but his replacement, Woltemade, continues his ridiculously impressive conversion rate in front of goal. Across nine starts, he has scored six goals for Newcastle so far, four of them at St James’ Park, and once again he did so with a solitary shot.

Some of his build-up play, the touches, flicks and passes, was breathtaking once more, and he is brilliant at setting up his team-mates. Yet he only managed three touches inside the opposition box, the first coming in the 43rd minute, and only had 21 in general.

Regardless, the 23-year-old has been prolific since arriving and Newcastle continue to find ways to win in this competition. Having failed to lift a domestic trophy for 70 years until seven months ago, they are not willing to give up this one easily and are still on course to become only the fifth team to retain the League Cup.

Chris Waugh

Why did Newcastle’s opener upset Spurs?

Tottenham have been among the best teams in the Premier League from set pieces this season, proving as formidable at defending them as they are threatening when attacking them. Thomas Frank and Spurs’ set-piece coach Andreas Georgson obsess over every detail, and when one piece is out of place, it can throw the whole structure off.

In the corner-kick routine before Newcastle opened the scoring, Spence was in the mix inside the box. Tottenham, as they have done so well this season, defended that corner kick competently. However, in the lead-up to Schar’s header, Spence was near the corner flag, tying his laces.

After Spence had tied his laces — a process that seemed to take an age, inviting jeers from the home support — the referee allowed Sandro Tonali to take the corner, but Spence was rushing back into position.

Frank immediately turned towards the fourth official, venting his frustration. In his view, Spurs were left a man down in the box, and the referee should have given Spence the time to return to his designated position to defend the corner. Frank criticised Chris Kavanagh and said afterwards that Spence was due to mark Schar.

Elias Burke

Did Schar show he can still be a starter?

Ask those inside Newcastle and they will stress that, no matter how much he may be doubted, Schar always backs himself to come good again.

The 33-year-old had not started a match since he was forced off due to concussion against Barcelona on September 18. Malick Thiaw slotted in alongside Sven Botman and that pairing have complemented one another superbly, supporting the theory that they can and will be Newcastle’s centre-back pairing for years to come.

Thiaw has started nine matches in succession in all competitions and, with Botman rested on to the bench after having his head stapled followed a clash of heads with Sasa Lukic during the victory over Fulham, he shifted across to left-sided centre-half. Schar, who came on against Fulham, resumed his position as right-sided centre-back, despite having played on the left for much of 2023-24 when Botman was sidelined with a knee injury.

For much of his short Newcastle career so far, Thiaw has looked largely unflustered and extremely impressive, but it was Schar who appeared most at ease against Spurs. Thiaw misplaced a couple of passes and decided he had to commit a tactical foul just before half-time, receiving a booking for upending Xavi Simons.

Schar, meanwhile, capped off his return to the XI with the opening goal, powering in a header from a Tonali corner having found himself in space inside the area. Regardless of his age, Schar consistently produces when called upon.

Impressively, despite this back four having never started together, with Dan Burn and Emil Krafth playing down the defensive flanks, Newcastle kept an eighth clean sheet in 14 matches in all competitions. No matter the make-up of their backline, Newcastle are stifling their opponents.

Chris Waugh

Did Spurs miss Vicario?

Guglielmo Vicario produced possibly his most impressive display in a Tottenham shirt against Monaco and followed it up with a similarly excellent performance against Everton in the 3-0 win on the weekend, putting to bed any doubt over his status as Spurs’ No 1 for the here and now. Still, having joined in January to significant fanfare after impressing for Slavia Prague, 22-year-old Kinsky is viewed as a potential long-term successor, and he had the chance to assert his status as one for the future at St. James’ Park.

Kinsky had a solid first half, demonstrating the short and medium-length distribution which promises to potentially add another dimension to Tottenham’s build-up play. On one occasion, he set Lucas Bergvall away on the counter-attack with a perfectly weighted throw into his direction, an encouraging sign of his ability to inject pace into a Spurs attack that has been ponderous and slow from open play for much of the season so far.

His second half, however, was much tougher. Kinsky was culpable for Newcastle’s second goal of the evening, flapping at a floated Joe Willock cross which Woltemade headed into an empty net. From that point, his distribution was slightly more erratic, miscuing the chipped balls over the Newcastle attack that brought a different dimension to Spurs’ attack in the first half. Still, Frank will take encouragement from the fact that Kinsky’s head didn’t drop, and he continued to make himself available to receive in awkward situations and attempt riskier passes.

With Vicario missing from the matchday squad without explanation, perhaps Kinsky will be called upon again on the weekend to deputise. In the Italian’s absence, Brandon Austin and Luca Gunter were named on the bench, but it seems unlikely that they will ascend Kinsky in the pecking order, despite his error for the goal.

And while Spurs can ill afford another error leading to an opposition goal against Chelsea on Saturday evening, Kinsky is clearly talented, and offers attributes with his feet that no other Spurs keeper has.

Elias Burke

What did Howe say?

“I thought everyone played with the right spirit and determination, it was a hard-fought win,” Howe said.

On if players who came into the team took their chances: “There was no sort of great message to the group from me, but I think on a subconscious level they’ll have known they needed to grab these ones. Of course, training is a massive opportunity for them to impress me. They didn’t let me down.”

On Willock’s performance: “Really pleased for Joe because we all have very short memories in football. We forget how good players can be, but we haven’t as coaches. The biggest problem he has had has been his body but he looked really fit, he covered lots of grounds and tactically he was excellent in a different role. He got an assist and could have scored as well.”

What did Frank say?

“I think we conceded two goals where it was two mistakes,” Frank said to Sky Sports. “I think the first was a mistake from Chris, the ref, because he didn’t allow Djed time to come back in, which he clearly should have done. He’s supposed to mark Schar, who scored. So I think that was the first mistake.

“It’s very, very rarely I comment on any decision, but this we need to comment because it was completely common sense.

“And the second, unfortunately, was a mistake from Atonin.”

What next for Newcastle?

Sunday, November 2: West Ham (Away), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET

What next for Spurs?

It is difficult, when you look at the Premier League table, to argue with Thomas Frank’s record at Tottenham Hotspur so far.

Nine games into the new season, they sit in third place. Only Arsenal, who are top, have won more games than Spurs. No team has scored more goals than Tottenham (they have 17, joint with Chelsea and Manchester City). Only Arsenal (three) have conceded fewer than Frank’s side (seven).

Even if you think it is too early to glean clear lessons from the table, the evidence of those nine games, the first almost-quarter of the league season, is promising. Even more so when you place it in the context of Frank’s time at Spurs so far.

Frank took over a team who had just had one of the most unusual seasons in modern club history, winning the Europa League while also losing 22 league games and finishing 17th. He has had to repair the ship while navigating through Premier League and Champions League fixtures. He has had to do this with a fairly patchy squad, with injuries in key positions. He has not been able to give a minute to Dejan Kulusevski or James Maddison — Spurs’ two leading creative midfielders — so far. Dominic Solanke, the first-choice centre-forward, has not started a game yet. There should still be a lot of growth to come.

And yet those three glass-half-full paragraphs do not in fact tell the whole story of Frank’s tenure so far. There have arguably been as many bad performances as good ones. In Europe, Spurs were fortunate to scrape draws at Bodo/Glimt and Monaco, and could easily have lost both games by a distance. Their home league games have been miserable since the Burnley win on opening day. Without Joao Palhinha’s late equaliser against Wolves, they would have lost their last three straight home league games.

Football is not just about numbers and outcomes. Fans want to enjoy the process too. This is true everywhere, but especially at Spurs. This is a club that invested tens of millions of pounds in big-name managers in recent years — first Jose Mourinho, then Antonio Conte — only to realise that the style of play did not fit. There are aesthetic expectations that have to be met.

Every fan is entitled to their own conception of ‘good’ football, but most of those conceptions will share some similar ideas. That their team should be proactive, dominate the ball, play in the opposition half, take risks, and eventually triumph through their own skill, bravery and co-ordination. These are eternal principles, but as English football has grown more technical and possession-oriented in the last 10 years, they have felt increasingly hegemonic.

This is why watching Frank’s Spurs at times has felt jarring. No football fan is fully free from cultural conditioning. Our eyes have adjusted to what we have watched for the last few years. And through those lenses, they do not look good.

Tottenham rarely move the ball through the middle of the pitch, preferring the stability of Rodrigo Bentancur and Palhinha sitting there together. They struggle to pick through a settled opposition defence. They do not overwhelm teams with relentless pressure. Only Aston Villa, Sunderland, West Ham United and Burnley, according to Opta, have had fewer shots than Spurs this season. They do not squeeze the opposition to death in their own half. Only Crystal Palace, Fulham and Burnley have made fewer high turnovers than Spurs. If you drew up a list of how you would expect a dominant team to play, Tottenham would not tick many of the boxes.

Sunday’s 3-0 win at Everton was a case in point. Everton had more possession and more shots. Tottenham spent long spells defending their own box, Kevin Danso endlessly heading the ball away. Guglielmo Vicario had to make two brilliant saves when the game was in the balance. But Spurs were clinical when it mattered. Micky van de Ven twice headed in from corners, and Pape Matar Sarr finished off a counter-attack in the final minutes.

If it was a one-off, some people might have called it lucky. But there is a pattern to these away wins now. Spurs did roughly the same thing to Manchester City in August, West Ham in September and to Leeds United earlier this month. It’s who they are now.

It is not hard to spot the change in style and emphasis at Tottenham this season. Away from proactive expansive possession, full-backs attacking through the middle, risk-taking on the ball. Towards stability in the middle of the pitch, Bentancur and Palhinha, maintaining shape in possession and maximising set pieces.

But what is true of Tottenham is true of the league at large. Look at Arsenal, who have gone from playing open possession football to being the best defensive team and best set-piece team in the world. Even City themselves have stepped back from the pure possession game, replacing Ederson with Gianluigi Donnarumma, effectively turning the clock back 10 years in the process. Their game is now about getting the ball to their physically dominant No 9 as quickly and as often as possible. Everywhere you look, teams are going direct, focusing on set pieces, teaching their players how to throw the ball long again. The game has changed faster than anyone could have imagined, and in the opposite direction.

And in this brave new world, this Dychenaissance, who better to manage Tottenham than Thomas Frank? His coaching has always been clear-eyed and strategic about pursuing every advantage for his team. At Brentford, some of his football looked like a throwback in an era of endless possession. But he followed his own path and pursued the intimations in a changing game. And right now, in the era when set pieces are becoming the game itself, his approach is at the cutting edge. And if this is what modern football is, Spurs might as well be good at it.

“Every manager and club wants to compete and it is about finding the small margins,” Frank said in his press conference on Monday, ahead of Wednesday’s League Cup tie at Newcastle. “I think the success that we had at Brentford was maybe not as fancy because we were a smaller club, but also Arsenal picked up (the importance of set pieces). Liverpool two years ago were extremely good at it too. So top clubs picked it up and then go, ‘Oh, you probably need to do this if you want to be able to compete or raise the bar to be even better.’

Tottenham have always needed a manager who is ahead of the tactical curve. They do not have enough money or enough originality to compete in any other way. They had that in Mauricio Pochettino, whose energetic pressing football gave Spurs an edge, before Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola even arrived in English football. But they appointed Mourinho and Conte too late, and could not even give them all the tools to compete anyway. Postecoglou’s expansive possession felt like it might have been the future, but football moved in a different direction — towards the minimalistic efficiency of the game Frank had been honing in Brentford.

Perhaps this is just what good football is now. And we all need to adjust our eyes.

We are 24 per cent of the way through the 2025-26 Premier League season and one team look to be a cut above the rest so far.

That side are Arsenal, currently four points clear of second-placed Bournemouth and five ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland in third and fourth.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are fifth — having lost three of their nine games — level on points with improving rivals Manchester United, while reigning champions Liverpool remain stuck on the 15 points they won in their opening five matches.

In a season where most sides are exhibiting several flaws, is there anyone out there who can step up and challenge Arsenal — or are Mikel Arteta and his players destined to canter to the north London club’s first league title in 21 years?

The Athletic’s writers have therefore been asked, or rather forced, to make a case for each challenger, down to Chelsea in ninth.

Here then, is an argument as to why those sides can beat Arsenal to the champions’ trophy, a reason why they won’t, and some numerical context from data writer Conor O’Neill.

Bournemouth

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Anantaajith Raghuraman on why they can catch Arsenal: Bournemouth have improved both in and out of possession after restructuring their defence and have one of the Premier League’s best players in Antoine Semenyo. Eli Junior Kroupi’s breakout campaign up front adds to the excitement, while Andoni Iraola’s tactics can force mistakes from even the best teams.

Lest we forget, Arsenal lost four league matches in 2024-25 and two of those were to Bournemouth.

The teams don’t meet until January at the Vitality Stadium, but November could prove decisive for a Leicester City-like fairytale to be possible.

Arsenal have two more Champions League matches to contend with, along with tricky matches at Sunderland and Chelsea and at home against Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford between November 8 and December 3. In that same period, Bournemouth play Aston Villa, West Ham United and Everton, while also visiting Sunderland.

Why they won’t: The past two weekends provide a clue. Arsenal were thoroughly professional in putting visitors Crystal Palace away 1-0, limiting the visitors to 0.5 xG. A week earlier, Bournemouth played out a wild 3-3 draw at Selhurst Park with Palace, underperforming their 4.4 xG and missing multiple big chances.

Bournemouth’s style, while comparatively more measured than it was in 2024-25, is still largely direct and chaotic. They are much better positioned to deal with transitions, but 11 goals conceded in their nine games (albeit seven of those have come just against Liverpool and Palace) is a concern. Arsenal have allowed just three in as many matches.

Their high-intensity system can also lead to injuries, which derailed their end to last season. While they seem better equipped to deal with them this time around in most positions and will welcome the returns of Evanilson, Enes Unal and Julio Soler soon, their depth at centre-back – where Arsenal potentially have six different options – behind Bafode Diakite and Marcos Senesi is not the most encouraging.

What the data says: Bournemouth have spent fewer minutes in losing positions this season than any other side — a testament to their quality, but also a trait that plays into their strengths. Their five goals from fast breaks are a league high, and Iraola’s transitional approach thrives against stretched opponents chasing a goal. It won’t be smooth sailing between now and May, and how they cope when falling behind early is likely to be a truer test of their credentials.

Tottenham Hotspur

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Elias Burke on why they can catch Arsenal: Whisper it quietly, but there are a fair few similarities between Thomas Frank’s Tottenham and Arteta’s Arsenal.

Like their local rivals, Spurs’ success is grounded in defensive solidity. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are perhaps the only centre-back partnership in the Premier League that can match Arsenal’s William Saliba and Gabriel on their day, and they are backed up by able deputies: Kevin Danso, who stepped in for the injured Romero, was excellent in their 3-0 win away win against Everton.

That relatively comfortable win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium also demonstrated their set-piece prowess. Much has been made of Arsenal’s threat from corners and free kicks over several seasons, but Tottenham have made a marked improvement from last season in dead-ball situations since appointing Frank, and are now among the best in the league. Carrying on from Rodrigo Bentancur opening the scoring at a corner in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, Van de Ven profited from set-piece coach Andreas Georgson’s ingenuity to score his first career brace on Sunday.

And while Arsenal might still have a slight edge in that department, Spurs are scoring far more freely than them from open play. They have more than twice as many goals from open play as Arsenal (11 to five), with only Liverpool and Manchester City doing better.

Why they won’t: Tottenham’s impressive defensive structure and set-piece proficiency have given them an encouraging base to start from, but they’re yet to find an attacking rhythm in open play.

Frank’s side have excelled in capitalising on “chaos” situations, recycling the ball well from set pieces to create second- and third-chance opportunities. They have also finished excellently, scoring 17 times from an expected goals (xG) tally of 11.25, which is the highest overperformance (5.75) in the Premier League so far. While Spurs could conceivably remain as threatening from set pieces and their follow-up situations, such overperformance tends to level itself out over the course of a league season, particularly as serial xG model-breakers Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are no longer around.

Their lack of consistent attacking fluency is partly down to injuries. James Maddison, who is likely to miss most, if not all, of the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury sustained on their pre-season tour, would help significantly. As would fellow long-term absentee Dejan Kulusevski, who could return from his own knee issue before the end of the calendar year.

What the data says: Tottenham are also overperforming at the defensive end of the pitch, conceding almost half a goal less than expected per game. But their underlying numbers represent a vast improvement on last season, when only the Premier League’s three relegated sides conceded more xG. That new-found solidity has been the backbone of their strong start under Frank.

Sunderland

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Chris Weatherspoon on why they can catch Arsenal: That Sunderland are even in this conversation is at once testament to the remarkable work being done at the north-east club and hilarious. Four years ago this week, they lost 5-1 at Rotherham United in League One, English football’s third tier; now they sit three spots from English football’s summit.

Talk to anyone on Wearside and this season’s aim remains unchanged: survival. Anything else is a bonus but with 17 points in the bag already, it’s fun to get a little carried away. Life is for living, and all that.

Their chances of ‘doing a Leicester’ look remote but the air of positivity is well-founded, not least after Saturday’s win at Club World Cup champions Chelsea, which was no less than Regis Le Bris’ side deserved. The Frenchman has quickly moulded a slew of new signings into an imposing defensive unit. Behind Arsenal, they’ve conceded the joint-least goals in the division. Marshalled by the unflappable Granit Xhaka in midfield, the summer’s necessary splurge looks justified so far.

Xhaka and Sunderland welcome Arsenal, his previous English club, to the Stadium of Light next week for what now appears a very tasty tussle under the Saturday evening lights. Win that one, and people really might start to believe in miracles.

Why they won’t: The league table never lies but perhaps it tells a fib or two now and then. The last time a promoted club had this many points after nine games was Hull City in 2008-09; they managed only two more victories the rest of the way, finishing 17th and avoiding relegation by a point.

Sunderland’s great start has been aided by good fixtures, but those are turning. The trip to Chelsea was meant to be the beginning of their grounding and, while that was emphatically avoided at Stamford Bridge, the next two months still look arduous. Within the next 11 games, they play Arsenal, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Manchester City (twice), Newcastle and Spurs.

The back end of that run of fixtures won’t be helped when several of their impressive new signings depart for the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs from just before Christmas into January. Congolese midfielder Noah Sadiki will be especially missed.

There’s also the matter of sustainability. Le Bris’ boys aren’t creating a lot and have the fourth-lowest attacking xG in the league to date. A title push on those numbers would be ludicrous. Just as well Sunderland’s ambitions remain a fair sight lower than being champions for the first time since the 1930s – though they’ve certainly ticked up a notch since the summer.

What the data says: Leicester’s miracle a decade ago aside, Sunderland’s counterpunching style is not one that usually delivers titles. As the territory plot below shows, they have not dominated games this season in the way the more established heavyweights have. Momentum has its own mystical qualities, but even the most delirious Sunderland fan would admit that this is unlikely to last.

Manchester City

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Jordan Campbell on why they can catch Arsenal: Erling Haaland. In the Norwegian striker, City have arguably the best goalscorer in the world, and someone who looks destined to break the 30-goal barrier for the fourth season running. Arsenal have not had a player do that since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2019-20.

While they have vastly improved the depth of the squad, finally investing heavy sums in forward areas, the strategy of spreading their goals throughout the team is still to prove it can outperform a freakish individual such as Haaland.

The addition of Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal means City can now make the argument they possess the league’s best individual player at both ends of the pitch. While Arsenal are about the collective, having two such giant figures could prove pivotal if the race is close on its final stretch — the very period City tend to come into their own.

Why they won’t: Rodri has not been able to return from the knee injury that wrecked his 2024-25 season and stay fit for any length of time yet. He is fundamental to this team’s balance and flow.

Without him, City are going to find it difficult to find consistency of selection or performance. There have been several games this season already in which they have looked defensively fragile, albeit far less than around this time last year. Until they solve those issues, it feels like Arsenal are going to be too strong. Arteta’s men could even break Chelsea’s record for fewest goals conceded this season. It is a target that has been brewing for some time, having posted the best defensive numbers two years running.

It can be argued whether Arsenal’s ceiling is as high as City’s, but their floor is certainly much higher. That should mean that this time, with no other team likely to post a points total above 90, the title is finally theirs.

What the data says: City have never relied on their power centre-forward this much, and, as Jordan has written, title-winning teams generally boast a healthier spread of goalscorers. Arsenal are certainly pitching in from all corners, with 11 individuals finding the net already, the most in the league. Guardiola’s side, who have just four other scorers not named Haaland, need to find that sort of variety, and quickly.

Manchester United

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Carl Anka on why they can catch Arsenal: United have not finished above Arsenal in the league since 2020-21. Still, if we are to momentarily play devil’s advocate, the best case for a record 21st league title at Old Trafford comes via a fixture list with no European commitments or any further Carabao Cup ties. Head coach Ruben Amorim has previously spoken of the training-ground value that can be found in only playing one game a week, and they’ve been much improved in recent wins over Brighton, Liverpool and Sunderland.

United narrowly lost 1-0 to Arsenal at home to kick off the campaign in August, but they look to be getting stronger with every win. A lot could change between now and their rematch at the Emirates in late January. A Premier League season is a long process.

Why they won’t: Recent wins suggest that while Amorim is beginning to settle on a starting XI that can challenge for the European places, his approach asks too much from too few players to make them real title contenders.

Bryan Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui will all depart for the Africa Cup of Nations in December, leaving him without some of his best technicians. United also lack strength in depth in defensive midfield, an issue that can be mitigated so long as Casemiro plays closer to his 2022-23 self, but the team noticeably loses attacking shape/finesse following the Brazilian’s late-game substitutions.

Arsenal’s squad, meanwhile, has reached a critical mass of talent, honed into a robust team by an excellent coach over several seasons.

United are still learning how to walk in step with the Premier League’s best again. Figuring out how to outrun them in a nine-month marathon? That will surely take a few more years.

What the data says: United’s significant summer spending on new attackers has quickly borne fruit, with their attacking metrics markedly improved, as shown by the rolling expected goals chart below. They have steadied the ship defensively too, but it is this added firepower that has excited fans, fuelling dreams of an unlikely title charge.

Liverpool

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Gregg Evans on why they can catch Arsenal: The club’s attacking riches. Once Alexander Isak gets up and running, he’ll start terrorising defenders like he used to do in a Newcastle shirt. Florian Wirtz will also find his feet, despite all the current negativity surrounding him. Oh, and Mohamed Salah is back among the goals too. What you’ll see now is a player with a little more confidence and someone more likely to make an impact at important moments.

Liverpool have far too much quality to continue losing. Once Ryan Gravenberch returns, and Alexis Mac Allister shakes off this rusty patch, they’ll be fine… even if it means deploying Dominik Szoboszlai in every position on the pitch, presumably other than goalkeeper, at some stage of the season.

Why they won’t: Losing four games in a row is bad for any team, let alone the defending champions, and it’s going to take a serious wobble up above for things to change.

Injuries are also adding up, and Liverpool are one central-defensive setback away from a crisis. There’s little chance of both Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk staying fit all season, and even if they do, they’ll need a rest at some point, with Joe Gomez the only alternative.

What the data says: While Arsenal have mastered the art of eking out wins through set-piece prowess, Liverpool’s struggles in this area offer a stark contrast. Since the start of last season, only Fulham and Manchester City have converted a smaller share of their set-piece chances. They’ve lost their last four games by a single goal, and finding that extra edge from dead balls could be what turns those narrow defeats into points.

Aston Villa

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Jacob Tanswell on why they can catch Arsenal: They have one of the world’s best managers, somebody able to defeat the best teams and overcome the best tactical minds. Unai Emery has now beaten Pep Guardiola at home three times in a row and has lost to Mikel Arteta once in four matches, winning two of them.

Villa boast the best home record of any Premier League side over the past two years. Now that rhythm and confidence have been restored, they are rarely defeated, possessing the ability to roll from one game to another, within a congested fixture schedule, without appearing overexerted or lacking. They can grind out wins due to a spine — Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins — that can rival any other side.

Unlike other potential competition for Arsenal, this is an experienced group who have been together for a long time and know every granular detail of their manager’s approach. And as Guardiola said of Villa on Sunday, “this is a Champions League team… a top, top team.”

Why they won’t: Now for some realism. Frankly, every bit of evidence will lead you to realise Villa have no chance of winning this title. They have the Europa League on Thursdays until at least the end of January, adding to the workload, and are a squad, despite growing in strength, which is imbalanced and lacking in key positions following a turbulent summer.

Yes, they can beat strong teams, especially at Villa Park, but are often left frustrated against certain tactical, low-block setups, often found when they face middling to lower Premier League outfits. The goal this season is to qualify for Europe again — finishing ahead of Arsenal, or even trying to, would be the most exceptional achievement.

What the data says: Villa’s form has dramatically improved after their stodgy start, but their underlying metrics betray a side still searching for their groove. Only West Ham and Burnley have a lower expected goal difference per game — hardly the sort of company a title contender wants to keep.

Chelsea

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Cerys Jones on why they can catch Arsenal: Being able to beat the defending champions is a pretty good litmus test of title credentials.

Chelsea’s win against Liverpool was particularly impressive because of its context: fresh from a very poor defeat to Brighton, just about squeezing past Lincoln City of League One in the Carabao Cup, and coping with a long injury list that includes talisman Cole Palmer. The fact that Chelsea beat the 2024-25 title winners while so far from full strength and form is a real statement.

Their Club World Cup triumph in the summer has surely done wonders for the players’ confidence and the ‘Cole Palmer FC’ allegations are weakening: Chelsea just won four games in a row without the 23-year-old. His return, and that of striker Liam Delap, will bolster an attack that is already the joint-highest scoring in the league.

Why they won’t: That four-game winning streak ground to a halt on Saturday in a home loss to promoted Sunderland that showed as much about Chelsea’s shortcomings as the win against Liverpool did about their strengths. Enzo Maresca’s side allowed the game to drift, struggled to break down Sunderland’s block, and poor decisions let them down defensively at the end.

At times, they have been their own worst enemies: losses to Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion could have turned out very differently without straight red cards for Robert Sanchez and Trevoh Chalobah. Self-inflicted suspensions, along with that considerable injury list, have denied them consistency.

Chelsea can go toe-to-toe with top sides — see the Club World Cup final against recently-crowned Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and that defeat of Liverpool — but those dramatic, ‘statement’ results have not been backed up with the gritty, often dull, wins that all champions need.

Rebecca Caplehorn will leave her role as Tottenham Hotspur’s head of administration and football governance at the end of the January transfer window in another high-profile change at the Premier League club.

Sources close to the club, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to do so publicly, said the decision to leave was her own, and her duties would be taken on by an incoming director of football operations, who is yet to be named.

Caplehorn, who joined Spurs in 2015 after five years with Queens Park Rangers, was promoted to her current role in September 2020 as part of a significant reshuffle of the club’s senior management positions under former executive chairman Daniel Levy.

In the newly-created position, Caplehorn oversaw all football governance at the club, and worked closely to represent Spurs with the European Football Clubs (previously the European Club Association), the FA and various other governing bodies. She was also involved in transfer and contract negotiations.

In April, Spurs appointed Vinai Venkatesham as their chief executive officer. At the beginning of the summer, chief football officer Scott Munn left his role and long-serving executive director Donna Maria-Cullen stepped down.

In September, executive chairman Daniel Levy left the club after nearly 25 years in charge. Tottenham’s statement said that Levy had “stepped down” but the decision was taken by the club’s majority shareholders, the Lewis family.

Peter Charrington was appointed as a non-executive chairman following Levy’s departure, having joined the board in March as a non-executive director.

Earlier this month, Fabio Paratici was appointed joint-sporting director with Johan Lange. Last week, Spurs announced that Eric Hinson would join the board as a non-executive director.

Analysis

The departure of Rebecca Caplehorn is another sign of the significant executive changes behind the scenes at Tottenham this year.

Caplehorn was one of the longest-serving officials left at the club following the departures of Donna-Maria Cullen in the summer and executive chairman Daniel Levy, who was dismissed last month.

Caplehorn joined as head of football operations in early 2015, having previously been finance director of Queens Park Rangers. Over the course of her 11 years at Spurs she worked on football administration, transfers, player and staff contracts, as well as representing the club to various football bodies. She also took special responsibility for overseeing the development of the Tottenham women’s team.

While never courting publicity, ‘Bex’ was very popular inside the club and well respected throughout the football industry. Staff would often comment in private that Caplehorn was one of the most impressive colleagues they had ever worked with.

Her departure – with the arrival of a new director of football operations – shows how much has changed this year. Just six months ago the structure, built around Levy, was the same that it had been for a generation. But this year everything has changed. Matthew Collecott remains as long-standing operations and finance director, but so many other parts have changed or moved.

There is a new (non-executive) chairman Peter Charrington, a new CEO in Vinai Venkatesham, and a new football model with two co-sporting directors, in Johan Lange and the returning Fabio Paratici. More appointments are expected as the new model is fleshed out.