THE GAME OF THRONES
End Arsenal’s title bid and Pochettino can depose King Wenger
MANY have tried to dethrone Arsene Wenger as t he undisputed king of north London. They have all failed. Mauricio Pochettino is Tottenham’s 12th manager since Wenger arrived at Highbury in 1996 but ahead of the biggest derby i n years between these bitter rivals, it could be his own disciples — the Arsenal supporters — who topple the great Frenchman.
Pochettino doesn’t want it that way, though. He doesn’t want Wenger’s crown by default. Victory would strike a near-fatal blow to Arsenal’s title challenge. What’s more, it would move Tottenham, at least for a few hours, to the top of the Barclays Premier League table.
It would also extend their lead over Arsenal to six points with nine games to go, raising the realistic possibility of Pochettino becoming the first Tottenham manager to finish above Wenger.
This Tottenham v Arsenal clash, and the repercussions from it, will have a far more profound impact than on the streets of north London. The number of overseas journalists at Wenger’s weekly press briefing yesterday was testament to that. This is a big one.
Wenger’s crown is slipping — can Pochettino be the man to assume the throne? He won’t have a better chance than today. Arsenal are on their knees. The Champions League defeat by Barcelona and the Premier League loss at Old Trafford were bad enough, but Wednesday’s shock home defeat by Swansea turned the air toxic.
Many supporters have run out of patience. The frustration at potentially blowing a golden chance to win a first Premier League title since 2004 can be heard in the stands, in the pubs and on internet message boards.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry claimed he had never seen Gunners fans as angry as they were after the final whistle on Wednesday. Those comments clearly irked his former manager.
‘Thierry Henry has his opinions,’ said Wenger yesterday. ‘He has not found the measurement of the fans’ angriness, of 60,000 people straight away, because he sits in the best seats of the stadium.’
To make matters worse f or Wenger, he will be without his first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech, who will miss up to a month with a groin injury, and his best defender Laurent Koscielny for the short trip up Seven Sisters Road. The smart money is on a Tottenham victory.
Wenger, however, was at his combative best yesterday, as he sought to stem the growing feeling that his kingdom is collapsing around him.
‘They have made progress, yes,’ he admitted of Spurs, albeit reluctantly. ‘But now this is crunch time. In the last 10 games, we will see. That’s why maybe everybody has a big interest in the game.’
It was classic Wenger mind games. Will Pochettino fall for it, though? With a chance to go top at West Ham on Wednesday night, Spurs stumbled, slipping to a 1-0 defeat.
Another loss today and the jury would be out. The old accusations of Spurs being all style and no substance would resurface. But you get the sense Pochettino won’t fall for Wenger’s dark arts.
‘Finishing above Arsenal? I don’t think like that now,’ he said. ‘ For me it’s important to finish well and try to be on the top and be ambitious. If from there we are above them, it’s good too.
‘We don’t want to compare with them. I think it’s not a good way to motivate our players. Our motivation is to be ambitious and win every game. Sometimes it’s difficult to win every game. We are not a machine.
‘But it is true the motivation is to win every game — not to be above Arsenal.’
Win today and Pochettino will be on course for setting up his own north London legacy.
The lack of longevity in modernday football management means Pochettino is likely to leave Spurs long before he approaches even a decade at the helm — let alone the 20 years Wenger has been in charge at Arsenal.
That’s not to say he doesn’t appreciate Wenger’s lengthy allegiance to the red half of north London.
‘From the examples of the last few years, maybe it is difficult to keep your position at these clubs,’ said the Argentine.
‘It is about the special capacity that Sir Alex Ferguson had and now Arsene Wenger. Maybe they are special people who are capable of keeping t heir j obs f or so long. Maybe they are like Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi.’ Win today, Mauricio, and you could be on to something special.