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Tottenham Women 0-3 Arsenal: We reap what we sow

One year after a historic win over Arsenal, Spurs are dominated at home in the Women’s NLD.

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A year ago in this same fixture, Tottenham Hotspur Women showed a real sign of intent and improvement in the WSL, nicking a late goal against Arsenal and holding off a fury of attacks en route to their first ever Women’s North London Derby win.

They could not recreate that same magic this season. Arsenal got a goal after just 65 seconds from Alessia Russo, another from Frida Maanum, and added a third midway through the second half Stina Blackstenius as the Gunners rolled to a comfortable 3-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. Tottenham, by contrast, were on the back foot the entire match, barely had a sniff at goal, and did not look anything like a team trying to push into the upper tier of the WSL.

It was not easy viewing. Arsenal dominated possession 60%-40%, had a 13-3 shot advantage, and pressed Spurs into oblivion from the opening kick. Spurs were able to claw their way back into the match somewhat in the second half, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent another dispiriting NLD loss.

Sorry this is such a depress-o-thon today, but there really weren’t very many positives to take from this match. Here are my reactions.

Match Reactions

For the second match in a row, Tottenham gave up a big goal against a big opponent on a big stage inside two minutes. This time it was Russo taking advantage of a lucky deflection, splitting the defensive line, and slotting past Becky Spencer. Spurs have been plagued by defensive lapses this season. This was another one as Clare Hunt didn’t close Russo down.

Arsenal’s press is exceptional but the early goal left Spurs shell-shocked. At one point Jessica Naz picked off a loose ball in midfield and immediately passed it backwards to Becky Spencer, which doesn’t bode well when you’re already behind a goal.

A few small signs of life late in the first half when Beth England forced a quality save from a long shot and then earned a couple of corners.

Tottenham worked themselves back into the match somewhat late into the first half, but by that time they had already shipped two goals. You’re not going to win too many matches if you do that.

One of the big differences between last year’s team and this year’s is the presence of a playmaking midfield. Without Grace Clinton or Kit Graham, and with Maite Oroz injured, Spurs have nobody who can effectively facilitate attacks from the midfield. Drew Spence had a particularly awful game. And the lack of a decent midfield press means the back line and keeper are under a lot more pressure. You really saw that today. Spurs could not get the ball to Beth England, Hayley Raso or Jessica Naz in space or even NOT in space, which killed any potential attacks early on.

Even if they’re a tick below where they often are, Arsenal are still a very good team and that gulf between them and Spurs was incredibly evident on Saturday. You don’t necessarily expect a win against the teams at the top of the table, but you would at least want them to look competitive. Spurs did not.

This is a really depressing list of match reactions and I wish it weren’t, but Spurs really haven’t given fans much to cheer about this season, reflective of the club’s lack of squad reinforcement in the summer. Arsenal were able to bring Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius off the bench today; they’d be Spurs’ best players this season. We reap what we sow.

One year ago in this same fixture, Tottenham Hotspur Women did the unthinkable: it defeated archrivals Arsenal for the first time in club history. The significance of that victory is hard to overstate: while Arsenal dominated English woso for years, Tottenham toiled in the lower divisions. In the rare times when the two clubs met, the gulf between them was massive and the lopsided results of these matches reflected that chasm. Over time, as Tottenham promoted up the pyramid and eventually to the WSL, the gap between the clubs started to narrow, but never quite enough.

Until last season. In a match played, like today’s, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Martha Thomas scored a second half goal and Spurs held on for a historic 1-0 win. Today, Spurs will attempt to achieve the impossible again.

Or is it? Tottenham have struggled this season, with just two wins from their first seven and losses already to both Manchester clubs and Chelsea. But this is also not the same Arsenal, with three draws and a loss in their opening seven matches, the Gunners parted ways with their head coach Jonas Eidvall, with Renee Slegers assuming interim leadership. The gulf between the clubs is still there — Arsenal are fourth and are insanely talented — but with some good play and against a rival in front of a boisterous home crowd, and considering last year’s fixture, is there anyone who would doubt that Tottenham Hotspur could again do the unlikely?

Tottenham welcome Amanda Nilden back from injury, though Spurs will still be without Kit Graham and Maite Oroz.

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur Women vs. Arsenal Women

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham, North London

TV: not televised (USA), BBC One (UK)

Stream: ESPN+ (USA), BBC iPlayer (UK)

Match thread rules

The match thread rules are the same as always. To any visitors coming here for the first time, welcome! We’re glad you’re here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you’re here, though, we have a few rules and regulations:

Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They’re bad and they get us in trouble. Violators will be warned or banned.

We have rules against “relentless negativity.” Nobody likes a Negative Nancy. Don’t knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you’re frustrated.

Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is also not allowed. It’s fine to say “wow, that was a really bad call,” but it’s NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.

Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

NO SPIDERS!

Finally, while we don’t have a rule against profanity, please try and keep the naughty words in check. Also, language that is sexist, racist, transphobic, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you will be immediately banned. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun, and COYS!

It’s an international break, and that means time to catch up on some things we may have missed. In this case, it’s not positive news.

After receiving punishment due to perhaps unfair charges stemming from players failing to conduct themselves in a proper manner against West Ham, a rather more deserved charge has followed. During the 3-0 win away at Manchester United in late September, travelling Tottenham Hotspur fans were purported to engage in chants that were homophobic, and the club has been charged by the FA as a result:

Social media was apparently awash with posts condemning the chants immediately following the match, with reporting breaking that the claims were being investigated and the furor growing to a level that the club felt it necessary to release a statement:

Look, I don’t know what the chants were, nor if I did would I feel like repeating them for this audience; and again, we’re a bit behind the 8-ball on this one. The long and the short of it though is that the FA feel they have the evidence to lay charges against the club due to its away fans engaging in “support” of this nature. Which means this absolutely happened.

And that is simply not good enough.

I would like to say it’s scarcely believable in this day and age that chants and jeers that are homophobic, racist, or discriminatory in any way would be acceptable within the context of a sporting crowd. I really would like to say that. Unfortunately, it’s not.

These sorts of incidents are still somewhat commonplace, and the fact that no active Premier League footballer has ever come out as gay speaks to the level of homophobia still found both within the sport itself and its support base. That’s why it’s important to address the situations seriously, and it’s good that the club see that as paramount as well.

It’s also why the FA will likely hand down a hefty fine. It could be more than that; severe breaches of the E21 rule can lead to playing behind closed doors or points deductions, but I doubt that’s the avenue down which the FA will pursue. Who knows, though?

Whatever is doled out, I’m sure it’s deserved. Do better, guys.

Death, taxes, a Tottenham Hotspur player injuring themselves while playing for Argentina. Bad news today out of CONMEBOL — apparently Tottenham Hotspur central defender Cuti Romero was substituted due to an injury concern in the second half of Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup Qualifying win over Paraguay on Thursday evening.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

According to Football.London, the injury appears to be to his right foot, the same one he injured earlier in the season playing for Tottenham against Aston Villa. It’s not clear if this is a different injury or if he reaggravated the one he just recuperated from, but either way it appears to be real and it SUCKS.

But there’s still a lot we don’t know. We don’t know the severity of the injury and whether the substitution was precautionary or not. We also don’t know the expected length of his recovery, or whether that same injury will impact his ability to play in Tottenham’s next match against Manchester City on November 23. But the long-tail impact is significant — with Micky van de Ven still out of action with a hamstring injury, Cuti sitting out the City game would likely mean a central defensive pairing of Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies, and more match minutes for Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro.

But on the other hand, it’s City and I’m starting to be convinced we could play academy players in the back line and still somehow get a win against Pep.

Tottenham Hotspur and South Korea captain Son Heung-Min hit another personal and professional milestone today, scoring from the penalty spot in South Korea’s 3-1 win at Kuwait in World Cup qualifying.

The goal itself isn’t anything special, but the significance of it certainly is. Sonny also nearly got his 51st goal, flashing a shot just wide of the post later on in the match.

Son is just the third Korean player to hit that 50 goal milestone for his country (he’s currently level with Hwang Sun Hong) and Sonny is now just eight goals behind the Taeguk Warriors’ legendary striker Cha Bum-Kun, a record he’s held since the 1980s. In addition, Son is only seven Korea matches away from becoming his nation’s most capped international player, a record held by Cha and Hong Myung-Bo.

There is very little doubt that Son will quite easily break both of those records before his international football career finishes; the only question is how far beyond both of those standards he will set the new benchmark. I don’t think it’s at all hyperbole to say that Son will end his career as the best player to ever suit up for the nation of South Korea, and it’s a privilege to have him also captaining our favorite club, Tottenham Hotspur. It may be a long time before his eventual records will be eclipsed (or maybe not if Yang Min-Hyeok has anything to say about it).

One of the more intriguing signings in Tottenham Hotspur’s summer 2024 transfer window was the (future) acquisition of Yang Min-Hyeok, an 18 year old South Korean forward from Gangwon FC, widely considered to be one of the breakout stars in the next generation of Korean football. Spurs agreed to sign him for a Korean league record £3.3m in the upcoming January transfer window after he completed the K-League season, which will wrap up just after the international break

Gangwon finished third in the K-League this season, with Yang netting 12 goals and five assists in 37 appearances.

Now it appears that he’ll be reporting for duty in North London a bit earlier. Multiple outlets, including Football.London, are reporting that Tottenham want to bring Yang in to begin training with his future teammates next month in December ahead of his formal registration in January.

Yang reporting early unfortunately does not mean he can play for Spurs during the holiday fixture period. As stated before, he’s not registered and won’t be until the January transfer window opens. Instead, this is viewed as an opportunity for Yang to get his feet wet in English football and start to acclimate to life in London. Football.London claims that, whatever else was reported earlier, this was always the plan with Yang, and that he will be slowly brought into the first team as he gets used to a dramatic change of lifestyle and culture.

Fans, meanwhile, should take this as a sign that it’s unlikely Yang will make an immediate splash in the Premier League this spring. There’s always the CHANCE he could, but it’s much more likely that he’ll need time to get used to everything that’s going on around him. Heck, to me it seems likely that we won’t even see him on the bench for a while, and despite a ton of promise he’s still only 18, younger than Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall. He’s probably not going to be a panacea for Tottenham’s problems this season (though wouldn’t it be great if he was?).

Still, it’s pretty exciting. Tottenham have swung for the fences this summer by targeting and acquiring a lot of young talent, and Yang is expected to be part of the next generation of Tottenham stars. But even with Tottenham and Korea captain Son Heung-Min there to mentor him through the transition, it might be a while before that star starts to rise, if it ever does.

We’re in the international break now (boo!), which means there’s little football to watch. Of course, there is League One and League Two football (but we’ll get to that tomorrow).

Instead let’s take a look across some of the other leagues in Europe.

La Liga:

Spoiler alert: Barcelona and Real Madrid occupy the top two spots in the league, respectively. BORING! Less boring? Osasuna making a top-four run. Know nothing about them, though, so I can’t offer any analysis. Mauricio Pochettino’s boyhood club Espanyol is at risk of getting relegated.

Serie A:

Speaking of former Tottenham managers, Antonio Conte’s Napoli is currently top of the table in Serie A. But if you’re looking to see who the goals leader is, that would be Mateo Retegui at Atalanta.

Ligue 1:

Not much to say here. PSG are first.

Bundesliga:

Leverkusen’s undefeated days are gone. Last year’s champs currently sit fourth in the table. Bayern Munich unsurprisingly are first, with an 8-2-0 record and Harry Kane as the league’s top scorer so far with 11 goals. Eric Dier was on the bench in the most recent 1-0 win against St Pauli. Also I nearly forgot Michael Olise is there now.

Eredevisie:

I guess any season in which Ajax aren’t on top is a bad season for Ajax. So consier this a bad season for Ajax, seven points back of PSV. I haven’t seen Utrecht near the top of the table in a while, so that’s kinda neat.

Turkish Super League:

In another league with former Spurs players, Galatasaray are on top. And you might have seen this strange clip of some super dribbling (and a bicycle kick) from Davinson Sanchez lately.

Pretty happy for him. And how could we neglect Jose Mourinho, whose Fenerbahce are currently five points adrift of Big Dav’s club?

Belgian Pro League:

I hate Genk. They and West Brom produced two of my least favourite Spurs matches I ever attended. The one with Genk, of course, was the 2017 Europa League aggregate defeat at Wembley Stadium when Dele was given a straight red card. I’d much rather Vincent Janssen’s Antwerp win the title.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Bad Self Portraits, by Lake Street Dive

And now for your links:

Harry Kane disappointed after nine withdrawals from Nations League squad

Dan KP: Lee Carsley responds after Kane criticies Nations League dropouts

Enjoy watching Rodrigo Bentancur play for Tottenham Hotspur while you can, because it sounds like he’ll be sidelined for a while. According to multiple reports including Sami Mokbel at the Daily Mail, the FA is close to issuing a lengthy match ban on Bentancur for racist comments he made this summer about South Koreans and Son Heung-Min in a social media video. The length of the ban has not yet been released, but unconfirmed sources has suggested it could be as long as seven matches.

Spurs have been bracing for this ruling for a while and we’ve written extensively about it since it happened this summer. As a quick summary, Bentancur was filmed on an Uruguayan television show making disparaging jokes about his teammate, Tottenham club captain Son, and how all South Koreans “look the same.” The FA charged Bentancur with “aggravated breach” of the federations’ rules back in September, and we’ve been waiting for the FA to make their decision for the past two months. Now it sounds like they have.

A seven match ban would be lengthy, but notably less than the maximum sentence of 12 matches that was being tossed around a couple of months ago. In that sense, Tottenham and Bentancur might be getting off a touch easy.

It should be noted that Bentancur tearfully apologized to Son in the midst of all this for what he said, and Sonny gracefully accepted his apology and forgave his teammate. As far as the club is concerned, it’s a done deal and water under the bridge. The FA process is separate from any (unstated) club sanctions to come from this incident.

It’s hard to get too upset about Bentancur picking up a ban for what happened. Actions have consequences, and although he and Son have patched things up it was still a stupid, racist thing to say on camera, and I don’t really have an issue with the FA’s decisionmaking. You can (and many will) quibble with a hypothetical seven match ban for racist comments, especially when compared to other punishments given (or not given) to other players for similar incidents, but I’m honestly still upset at Lolo that he put himself and the club in this position. It was dumb then, it’s dumb now, and it’s not like we didn’t see any of this coming.

Good morning, my well-read commentariat.

Today we’re revisiting what I think is one of the commentariat’s most-loved hoddles: What are you reading right now?

I’ve found many users on this site to enjoy reading, and there is a wide varray of tastes among you.

The last time I checked in with this hoddle I was roughly 370 pages into Richard Zenith’s biography of Fernando Pesso called Pessoa: A Biography.

I haven’t come across many biographies that are as well researched as this, which goes into a detailed biography of Portugal’s greatest writer who bore three of Portugal’s other greatest literary minds (Alberto Caeiro, Alvaro de Campos and Ricardo Reis).

Finally, finally I reached the point in this book where the heteronyms were revealed, as Pessoa described it in his “Triumphal Day”.

It’s a truly sublime book, one that now wrestles with Pessoa’s complicated stances on the Great War and racism. Of course, Pessoa being Pessoa, his views for the most part are wildly inconsistent.

There are still plenty of pages left (400), but I am looking forward to discovering more about this labrynthine writer who left indelible marks on poetry, prose, politics, astrology and so much more.

Fitzie’s track of the day: More of the Same, by Caroline Rose

And now for your links:

You want a loanee roundup? You got it, from Alasdair Gold

The Athletic ($$) asks why the Premier League’s elites’ levels have dropped

Gary Lineker to stop hosting Match of the Day

Good morning, Tottenham Hotspur fans and blog readers. Look, straight talk — I don’t want to do this article. You probably don’t want to read it. We just started another interminable two week international break, the world is on fire, there are multiple EVENTS happening across the planet, and everything seems grim. I’ve been putting this off — and why not? My favorite sports club just lost at home to the worst team in the league, I have cancer, and my surgical scar hurts.

So we’re doing cute animals with minimal player performance summaries. Don’t read this article, put your usual #jokes in the comments, and let’s just forget this ever happened, ok? Here are your Tottenham Hotspur player ratings to the theme of photos of cute animals.

Yeah, there are no Tottenham Hotspur players in this category.

No Tottenham players in this category either.

Guglielmo Vicario (Community — 2.5): I mean, he let in two goals but it’s not like he could’ve done much to prevent them.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Community — 3.0): Probably the wrong choice for the midfield in this match but he did play decent well for much of it. And scored on an offensive set piece, so that’s something.

Pape Sarr (Community — 2.5): Hard to fault him too much for this match. Looked like one of the few players whose engine wasn’t running on fumes.

Dominic Solanke (Community — 3.0): He did have the ball in the net, but only by kicking it off of his own arm. Probably should’ve had at least one other goal but was strangely wasteful with his shooting. One of Tottenham’s better performers, which isn’t saying much.

Timo Werner (Community — 2.5): Timo’s speed and directness were exactly what Spurs needed to get back into this match, and I thought he provided both, though the rest of the squad didn’t help matters much. Timo’d a decent shot attempt 10’ over the bar, which, lol.

Pedro Porro (Community — 2.0): Not a great match, but the dude has played just about every minute of every match for the past three weeks. And he put in that one corner.

Cuti Romero (Community — 2.0): More worried about this guy right now. What’s going on with him?

Destiny Udogie (Community — 2.5): Looks exhausted, and why wouldn’t he be?

Dejan Kulusevski (Community — 2.5): We know that Deki struggles against teams that put lots of men behind the ball. Probably should’ve been pulled earlier for Maddison.

Son Heung-Min (Community — 2.5): Bless him, he tried. Bless him, he largely failed.

Radu Dragusin (Community — 1.5): Awful on the ball, lax off the ball. I think he’s a good defender. I don’t think he’s a good defender for Ange.

Brennan Johnson (Community — 2.0): Terrible match on both sides of the ball, but perhaps to be expected when Ipswich found a way to neutralize his One Weird Trick.

Ange Postecoglou (Community — 1.5): I am coming around to the idea that Ange is an incredible manager, capable of maximizing underwhelming ability and getting teams to play his football above their talent level, and also has some really annoying habits like substitutions and in-game management. We should keep him and trust him for the next two years though because a) when it works it REALLY works and b) sacking managers after 18 months and starting over projects has ALWAYS worked well every time we’ve tried it over the past 20 years, right?

No Tottenham Hotspur players were as bad as The Original Piggy Poop Balls.

Tom Carroll Memorial Non-Rating