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As a fan of the England Women’s Cricket team and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club it has been a long few weeks. Generally I believe in giving yourself time off from sport that hurts you but Spurs have been impossible to look away from this season. And I’m presenting the Women’s Ashes for TNT Sports so, you know.

England women were my main frustration last year after the headless reaction to captain Heather Knight’s injury during the defeat to West Indies which led to their elimination from the T20 World Cup.

It didn’t help that Australia were subsequently knocked out in the semi-finals. Since they had won six of the previous seven World Cups and England had hammered eventual champions New Zealand twice that year, this should really have been a golden opportunity.

That it wasn’t was put down to a lack of leadership in the team, outside of the captaincy – held for more than eight years now by Knight. She has been one of the world’s most outstanding cricketers who led England to a famous World Cup win at Lord’s in 2017, was a Wisden cricketer of the year in 2018 and a key factor in the last England Ashes victory more than ten years ago.

You may notice that these accolades are from quite some time ago, like those of the England team.

Australia retained the Ashes on Monday at the earliest possible moment, taking all eight points available so far. Knight herself knows the performance of her side is crucial in growing the women’s game in this country – last year she said: ‘Ultimately our biggest chance to inspire is winning big competitions and performing in big events’.

Head coach Jon Lewis took over three years ago and was credited with developing a more aggressive, freer style of cricket, like that showcased by the men. But at crucial points, with the eyes of the world on them, the England women have come up short.

It’s unsurprising Knight as captain hasn’t gone in on her team but her claims they have been there or thereabouts Down Under aren’t true. England have lacked in every area: sloppy fielding, batters – in the main – failing to fire, inconsistent bowling.

Therefore, though the Ashes are gone, the three remaining games are crucial. Can England fight for their captain and their approach? I’d love to see it. Should a whitewash transpire change is surely indicated.

Tottenham’s recent defeat to Everton felt nearly as shocking. Personally I currently go into every game assuming we’ll lose. It’s a habit honed over many years, protecting me from slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. But right now I really believe it. The north London derby was actually a much better performance than those who’ve not seen it will have you believe. And it’s true that Ange Postecoglou’s side have a lot of injuries, much like Bournemouth. Did you see them at the weekend by the way?

The hollowed-out Spurs backline looks it. Micky van de Ven is an irreplaceable talent and Cristian Romero, World Cup-winning centre-back, would be a big miss from any team. But let’s not forget that Dr Tottenham’s losses to Crystal Palace and Ipswich were achieved with near-full strength line-ups.

Unlike with England, my feeling with Spurs is that change is not good. The instinct at moments of true crisis like this – Spurs really are eight points above the relegation zone more than halfway through the season – is usually to make some change, any change, to see if it will help. But new manager bounce is usually only a two-game strategy.

The five years when Spurs were a building club under Mauricio Pochettino were my favourite ever, and I still believe Postecoglou has the capacity to be that guy. See how Tottenham’s teenagers have done all that’s been asked of them and more. Ange undoubtedly needs help but the transfer window remains open. I fear the pressure now on the cups may crush any season-saving wins but I still believe consistency is key. And not just when I glance at the table and see Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest third, and remember how he bored himself out the door here.

The style gives what we want, but more pragmatism is needed, as are players. Results can follow. Please!!

The final games of the Women’s Ashes are live on TNT Sports and Discovery+. Kate is also presenting the England men’s white ball tour of India on TNT Sports.

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Ange Postecoglou’s time as Tottenham manager may be at an end after Spurs lost 3-2 at Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Toffees, buoyed by returning manager David Moyes, stunned everyone in the first-half as they raced into a three goal lead.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Iliman Ndiaye got on the scoresheet before an Archie Gray own goal sparked raucous celebrations at Goodison Park.

Tottenham got two goals back late on courtesy of Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison but it was too little to late, with the Lilywhites winning just five of their last 18 games in all competitions.

They’re now 15th in the table, only eight points above the relegation zone, with any dream of qualifying for Europe – via the Premier League – surely over.

The pressure is on Postecoglou who has at the very least got his side to the verge of the Carabao Cup final. They travel to Liverpool next month with a one goal advantage in their semi-final tie.

But should Daniel Levy decide a change is needed before then a number of Premier League managers have been tipped to replace the Australian.

Among them is Kieran McKenna who guided Ipswich Town to the top-flight after back-to-back promotions.

The Tractor Boys are struggling for points this season but have earned acclaim for their style of play, and McKenna himself emerged as a target for Chelsea and Manchester United last summer.

The Northern-Irishman was previously assistant manager to Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford and began his coaching career at Tottenham after playing for their youth teams.

Edin Terzic is the favourite to replace Postecoglou however, having been out of work since leaving Borussia Dortmund after guiding them to last season’s Champions League final.

Fulham’s Marco Silva, Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola are also leading contenders.

Speaking after the defeat at Everton, a crestfallen Postecoglou was asked about his future at Spurs and once again bemoaned his side’s awful injury crisis that has contributed massively to their terrible form.

The 59-year-old said: ‘I separate myself from that. This is not about me, but what is about me right now is I have the responsibility of the group of players I do have, to try and get us through this, and that’s what I’ve got to focus on.

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‘For me to focus on anything else is abstaining myself from the responsibility I have. I’m just determined to get us out of this.

‘The club’s doing its best to…more about helping the players than helping me because they’re the ones we’re asking some massive jobs of 18-year-olds. We had a 17-year-old out there trying to win games of football for us.

‘And others who are just playing week on week, so, you know it’s more about getting the players help rather than me help.’

Postecoglou will be desperate for a win when Tottenham travel to Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday, and again when they host Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

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Former Tottenham star Jamie O’Hara said he would be ‘surprised’ if Ange Postecoglou managed to survive the sack as the club collapsed to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Everton.

Postecoglou was already facing questions over his future in north London after a wretched run of just two wins in seven games and the situation went from bad to worse at Goodison Park this afternoon.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted for the first time in 17 Premier League games to break the deadlock in the 13th minute and Iliman Ndiaye doubled the hosts’ advantage with a solo wonder strike on the half-hour mark.

An Archie Gray own goal piled yet more misery on Spurs in the dying embers of a one-sided first half, with Postecoglou cutting a deeply frustrated figure on the touchline on Merseyside.

While goals Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison both struck to set up a nervy finish for Everton’s home support, the Toffees held firm to ensure Tottenham remain just eight points above the drop zone in 15th place.

Analysing Tottenham’s spectacular first-half capitulation on Sky Sports News, O’Hara suggested Postecoglou’s days were numbered and blasted the Australian’s inability to ‘play a different style of football’.

‘What a bad day this is turning into. I tell you what, I’d be surprised if he survives, Ange’ the former Tottenham midfielder said.

‘Regardless of the injuries and regardless of what we’ve got in terms of being in cup competitions, the Premier League is bread and butter.

‘It’s not good enough. You can’t be 15th in the table and 3-0 down against Everton.

‘I know there’s injuries but Bournemouth have got injuries and they went to Newcastle and won 4-1.

‘Put a bit of respect into the fact that you have to play a different style of football.

‘We can’t keep playing the way we’re playing and just expecting it to continue.’

Ex-Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher echoed O’Hara’s comments on Sky Sports’ commentary of the match, saying it was like watching men against boys.

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‘It’s like watching a kids academy team,’ Carragher said after Vitaliy Mykolenko squandered a chance to make it four midway through the second half.

‘They just keep playing the same way and the coach keeps telling them: “Don’t worry, keep doing it, results don’t matter!”

‘They’re playing against a team who couldn’t score a goal before this game.’

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Tottenham will be without Dominic Solanke for their Premier League match against Everton on Sunday due to injury.

The 27-year-old, who has scored seven goals in the Premier League this season, has suffered a muscular injury according to MailOnline and will be absent for his side’s trip to Goodison Park.

The report adds that there is a concern that Solanke, who was signed in a £65 million deal from Bournemouth last summer, could miss more than just the game against Everton this weekend.

After the match against Everton, Spurs travel to Hoffenheim in the Europa League before hosting Leicester City in the Premier League next Sunday.

For his side’s game against Everton at 2pm on Sunday, Ange Postecoglou is already without seven first-team players, while Brennan Johnson and Yves Bissouma are doubts to feature.

Richarlison returned from a two-month absence Spurs 2-1 defeat to Arsenal this week and could now deputise up front with Solanke out.

‘We’ve been really careful in the way we’ve brought him back this time. He’s probably been ready to go for a couple of weeks. We’ve given him extra work,’ Postecoglou said of Richarlison on Friday.

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‘I thought he was really good when he came on the other night [at Arsenal], you could see his quality.

‘He is one of these guys that does lead by example, particularly when he plays. It’s great to have him back.

‘With Richy, it’s about him gaining confidence in his body as well. We can do that in the next few weeks.

‘He’ll certainly play a part in the Everton game. Hopefully get him some more minutes than the other night, because if we can keep him fit, I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a really important player for us.’

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William Saliba missed Arsenal’s Premier League game against Aston Villa on Saturday with a hamstring injury.

The absence of the France international represents yet another setback for Mikel Arteta who is already without a clutch of first team players.

Encouragingly, however, Arsenal have described the 23-year-old’s injury as ‘minor’ and will hope to be able to call on him in the coming weeks.

Saliba has made 30 appearances for club and country this season and his defensive partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes has gone from strength to strength.

The former Saint-Etienne star will, however, miss only his second Premier League game of the season this evening after he appeared to tweak a hamstring during the closing stages of Wednesday’s win over Tottenham.

Saliba wasn’t spotted in training in the pictures released by Arsenal on Friday and the Gunners are refusing to take any risks with one of their key players.

‘He felt something before the match, something muscular,’ confirmed Arteta in his pre-match interview.

‘I don’t think it’s too much, but he could not train yesterday. He wasn’t feeling good enough to play so we have to assess the situation.’

Jurrien Timber will shuffle across to fill in at centre-half, meaning Thomas Partey must again fill in at right-back with Riccardo Calafiori still unavailable.

Mikel Merino returns to the starting line-up in central midfield, while Gabriel Martinelli regains his starting berth from Raheem Sterling who drops to the bench.

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Declan Rice branded Myles Lewis-Skelly ‘ridiculous’ and ‘scary’ after his impressive performance in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Tottenham on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Arteta’s side have closed the gap behind Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points as they came from behind to secure victory in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Tottenham but Arsenal were level after the ball deflected into the net off Dominic Solanke from a corner. Leandro Trossard then struck shortly before half time to put the Gunners in front.

Meanwhile, Lewis-Skelly was one of the standout performers for Arteta’s side and the 18-year-old’s progression has been described by Rice as ‘unbelievable’.

‘The young boy Myles again is just unbelievable, for 18 what he showed tonight is just ridiculous,’ Rice told TNT Sports after Arsenal’s win.

‘It’s scary, the 18-year-olds now have got no fear, they’ve got no fear whatsoever.

‘I think there were four or five times in the second half, he’s got that Moussa Dembele trait, he uses his body to get away from stuff. Sometimes, yeah, it’s risky but to show that at 18 and the personality and character, honestly, it’s unbelievable.

‘Do you know what as well, I’m going to mention them because they’re Spurs players but Archie Gray and [Lucas] Bergvall, they’re both 18 as well and they’re playing week in, week out, Mikey Moore, there’s guys in the Prem now who are playing and they are younger and younger and they’ve got no fear, it’s so good to see.’

Asked about Lewis-Skelly’s chances of securing a place in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad, Rice replied: ‘He is a midfielder by trade, he can play No.6, No.8, obviously he’s come into the team and played left-back, it suits him coming inside.

‘To know these roles and to understand what he’s learning now at 18, it’s unbelievable, it’s only going to stand him in good stead.

‘Who knows what England holds for him, I know they think highly of him there. There’s a lot of competition for places all over the pitch for England, we all need to keep performing for the new manager.’

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Arteta was also highly complementary of Lewis-Skelly’s performance against Spurs.

‘Unbelievable… he was phenomenal today, I think,’ Arteta said.

‘He has a real personality, he has so much trust in himself, he has an attitude about him.

‘You have to play against [Dejan] Kulusevski and [Brennan] Johnson here is not easy, the way he handled the situation and the occasion, it was top, I think.’

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Ange Postecoglou said his Tottenham side was ‘nowhere near good enough’ in their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Spurs took the lead in the first half through a deflected Son Heung-min strike, but that came against the run of play and the Gunners were ahead before the interval.

Dominic Solanke was unfortunate to score an own goal on 40 minutes, with a Gabriel header from a corner flicking off the striker and into the net.

Four minutes later Leandro Trossard put Arsenal ahead and that’s where they remained until the final whistle.

Postecoglou rolled the dice as early as half-time, putting on James Maddison and Brennan Johnson for Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma to unleash an all-out-attack formation.

Tottenham improved in that set-up, but still couldn’t produce much cutting edge and Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was rarely troubled.

After an 11th defeat of the Premier League season, the Spurs boss was fuming with the ‘unacceptable’ performance of his side.

‘Nowhere near good enough, especially in the first half,’ the Australian told TNT Sports. ‘We were too passive. We allowed Arsenal to dictate the game. We hung in there but that’s all we were doing. Second half was a little better not nowhere near good enough. Unacceptable.

‘Ultimately I guess the responsibility lies with me and how we prepare the players. Their mindset going out there certainly wasn’t our intent when we started the game. Like I said the second half was a little bit better, but certainly the first half nowhere near the standard we want to set.

‘I’m interested in how we play our football and we were not anywhere near the levels today.’

With Tottenham left 13th in the Premier League table after the latest defeat, Postecoglou was asked for his plans ahead of a trip to Everton on Sunday.

‘No choice. Go back to work and prepare for a tough game,’ he said. ‘Of course they [defeats] hurt me. Not acceptable. Too many losses this year. Too many games we’ve let get away from us. It needs to stop.

‘No other way of looking at it. If you give up now, there’s no point, but it needs to stop. Right now we have a big game against Everton this weekend. That’s our focus, we’ll look what happens beyond then after that.’

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was in wildly contrasting mood, thrilled by the performance of his players in a win which puts them within four points of league-leaders Liverpool.

‘Outstanding today. From the first minute we were really at it, really intense. We played with a real purpose to hurt them. We created an unbelievable atmosphere,’ he said.

‘We know how important the game is. It’s a gift we can make the supporters very happy.

‘The attitude we played with, not feeling sorry for ourselves, was phenomenal.’

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Arsenal host Tottenham on Wednesday night in a Premier League north London derby, with pressure on both sides to get a result.

The Gunners are coming off a disappointing FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester United, losing the Red Devils on penalties in the third round.

Their challenge for the Premier League title is still alive and they can go within four points of leaders Liverpool with a victory over Spurs, but cannot afford too many more slip-ups.

Mikel Arteta’s men have won just 11 of their 20 Premier League games so far and they need to improve on that win percentage if they are to remain in the title race.

Tottenham are a long way from challenging for the title, coming into this game in 13th and with three defeats and a draw in their last four Premier League outings.

Ange Postecoglou’s team are performing well in cup competitions, which may well be keeping the Australian in a job, as their league campaign has been very disappointing.

The manager will point to the amount of injuries his squad has suffered, which has certainly been a big issue, particularly with both centre-backs and the first choice goalkeeper out.

What time is Arsenal vs Tottenham?

The match kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday 15 January at the Emirates.

Arsenal vs Tottenham TV channel and live stream

The game is being shown live on TNT Sports 1 and streamed on Discovery+.

Arsenal vs Tottenham team news

Gabriel Jesus has joined Arsenal’s injured list and will miss the rest of the season due to the ACL issue he suffered against Manchester United.

Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Ethan Nwaneri and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain out, although Riccardo Calafiori could be involved again.

Tottenham’s problems remain numerous, with Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies and Wilson Odobert all still out. Timo Werner has also joined the long list of players out.

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Tottenham are sporting an unfamiliar look in tonight’s north London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are wearing their change strip at the home of their fiercest rivals for the first time since 2012.

On that occasion, with Andre Villas Boas’ side decked out in a half black and half grey and half black kit, Spurs were hammered 5-2 by an Arsenal team which contained the likes of Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere.

Arsenal, meanwhile, wore their black away kit for the reverse fixture earlier this season when Gabriel Magalhaes’ header proved the difference between the two teams.

It was the first time the Gunners had warn anything other than a red and white kit at Spurs since the 1985/86 season.

It is Spurs who have been forced into a change this evening, however, on account on the unusual amount of white in Arsenal’s current home shirt.

‘Both teams will be wearing their away strips in the fixtures this campaign, after [referees’ body] PGMOL and Premier League ruled that our 2024-25 home kit features too much white, thus clashing with Tottenham’s traditional colours,’ Arsenal said in a statement back in September.

Arsenal will be hoping for a return to winning ways, meanwhile, after their cup defeats against Newcastle and Manchester United in the last week.

Victory against Ange Postecoglou’s men would see Mikel Arteta’s men close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table to four points, albeit having played a game more, after the Reds were held by Nottingham Forest last night.

‘It’s probably the nicest game of the season to watch because of the atmosphere, because of what it means to our people, what it means to us and everybody involved in the game,’ said Arteta in his pre-match press conference.

‘This is something that is in our hands, for example. Let’s create the best atmosphere that we have played at the Emirates, that’s our objective.

‘That’s something that we control, the players, the staff, and everybody that turns up tomorrow. This is something that we can do, so let’s do it.

‘It’s not rosy in the garden, because [if] I won two days ago in a way that I didn’t merit or because we won two games in a row, the next day, the garden is rosy again.

‘These things are about what’s in the garden the next day. It’s our job, what’s in the garden the next day is the most important thing.’

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One of the few players to make the switch between fierce north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham has said the treatment he received was ‘horrendous’.

After spending over a decade at Spurs, ex-England defender Sol Campbell made the difficult decision to leave for Arsenal in the early 2000s.

Campbell was loved by Tottenham fans having come through the academy to make more than 300 first-team appearances and lift the League Cup in 1999.

But Campbell felt he needed to leave Spurs in order for his career to go to another level and joined Arsenal on a free transfer in 2001, linking up with legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Tottenham fans never forgave Campbell for what they saw as a betrayal, especially as he had publicly insisted he was staying in a post-match interview with Sky Sports.

Campbell says the treatment he received after leaving Spurs was ‘more than toxic’ but he does not regret his controversial decision, having gone on to enjoy a hugely successful spell at Arsenal.

During his five years with the Gunners, Campbell lifted two Premier League titles and two FA Cups and was a key part of Wenger’s Invicibles team.

Campbell also featured in a Champions League final for Arsenal, scoring an opener against Barcelona at the Stade de France before the Spanish giants came back to win 2-1.

Justifying his decision to switch between the north London rivals, Campbell told the Daily Mirror: ‘It was a move by a young man who wanted to win.

‘I wanted to win football games, I wanted to win championships, I wanted to see how far I could push my country, to see if I could win something for my country.

‘Everywhere I’ve played I’ve tried my best, wanted to win and I knew my time was running out and I had to think about what was the best possible chance of winning and joining a team which I can enhance.

‘Sometimes if you’re in a team which only has four or five players then it’s hard work if you want to win anything. You need nine, 10, maybe 11 and then two or three on the bench who can make a difference.

‘I’d never had that before and I wanted to be in the best environment. Arsenal’s training ground was second to none and Highbury was beautiful, historic ground, the pitch was always amazing.

‘The players were magnificent. They were incredible. Incredible quality, human beings and great players. I wanted to be in that environment.

‘Then you had Arsene Wenger with his new ideas on and off the pitch and his record.’

While he has no regrets over his move across north London, Campbell says he was on the receiving end of ‘horrendous’ treatment from Spurs fans for many years.

‘It was more than toxic,’ said Campbell, who won 73 caps for England. ‘If people went back and saw it again then they would say: “This is horrendous.”

‘It was movie-like and I had to grow. I had to be calm and play football. I had to be incredibly strong, I don’t think anyone now realises what it was like.

‘I think it would be impossible for any player now. The ones out there now know what they said. Everyone had their way but no-one has apologised.

‘Obviously Luis Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid and that’s a long way. Loads of players did it in Italy.

‘London is a big city, I’m a Londoner and you come across people who want to say something, especially at that time. I get it every now and again.

‘It’s definitely time to move on. I’ve moved on. But it does make me think. Other players have done moves like this. So, what is it?

‘Is it a racial thing? They’re not singing songs about them. What is going on? If you’re 20 or 25 years old, you weren’t even born. It makes no sense.’

North London is braced for another derby on Wednesday night as Tottenham travel to the Emirates Stadium in a bid to earn bragging rights and pile the pressure on faltering Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side have slipped seven points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United at the weekend.

But they are ten places and some 16 points above a Tottenham team enduring a poor run under struggling manager Ange Postecoglou.

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