POCHETTINO SNUBS TALK OF ‘WEMBLEY CURSE’
Tottenham still winless at new home this season
LONDON
MAURICIO Pochettino insisted that Tottenham must and will get over their Wembley curse after a frustrating 0-0 draw with Swansea which means they have yet to win at home in the Premier League this season.
The Spurs boss says that despite the fact his side have now dropped seven points in their first three League games at Wembley, having taken 53 from a possible 57 at home last season, they need to confine White Hart Lane to history.
Tottenham’s only home win this term came on Wednesday against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Pochettino drew on that game to rebut the accusations that Wembley is now undermining their season.
“Maybe it was a problem,” he replied ironically when asked about the stadium. “But today when you watch the game do you believe that Wembley was a problem? I think it’s a good point to talk before or after or if you don’t win. But Dortmund was at Wembley.
“What can we do? We play here at Wembley and we have to make a home at Wembley. I will repeat always the same every single press conference: we need to move on.
“It’s so important to move on. It’s true last season was fantastic at White Hart Lane. But today we are at Wembley. White Hart Lane is history.
“We are building a new stadium which will be fantastic and every single season is completely different. And we can’t compare this season to last season. We have a new squad, a different dynamic and it’s up to us to create a new dynamic and be positive.
“But I think it’s too early to analyse. The reality is that we have dropped a lot of points (at home) after three games but I am not worried. If we play in that way we will win a lot of games. We didn’t concede one shot on target! That says a lot about the commitment and the way we played.”
Tottenham were looking to score for the 30th consecutive home game but found Swansea a tough nut to crack. Daily Mail
The Gunners’ rearguard remained as creaky as ever and Cesc Fabregas sprung their offside trap with a precise pass to Pedro, whose tame shot at Petr Cech let the visitors off the hook.
Encouragingly for Wenger, Arsenal were still picking holes in Chelsea’s usually rock-solid defence.
They should have taken the lead just before half-time when Ramsey had only Courtois to beat after weaving his way past Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz.
However, Ramsey stabbed his shot against the far post before Lacazette somehow contrived to scuff the rebound over from close range.
Chelsea continued to lack a cutting edge after the break and Willian shot straight at Cech, then blazed over from long range as another attack petered out.
Shkodran Mustafi had the ball in the net for Arsenal, but the defender’s header was correctly ruled out for offside.
As Chelsea’s frustration mounted, Luiz shrugged off Alexis Sanchez — on as a substitute — and launched into a needless lunge on Kolasinac in the 87th minute. He was immediately shown a red card by referee Michael Oliver. AFP