Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen… some of the best attacking players in the Premier League, right? Then why aren’t they doing the business when Tottenham Hotspur face their fellow top six sides away from home?
Spurs travelled to arch-rivals Arsenal in the latest north London derby at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday looking to not only keep the pace with runaway leaders Manchester City, but also to increase the gap over the Gunners in the table to seven points.
Mauricio Pochettino would certainly have wanted his team to improve on their performance in the 1-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford last month, where they struggled in the absence of the injured Kane.
The Argentine would also have been well aware that prior to the clash against Arsene Wenger’s side, he had taken just nine points – including just the one win against City in February 2016 – from a possible 48 on the road against Arsenal, United, the Citizens, Liverpool and Chelsea since taking charge of Spurs in 2014.
That is a record that is simply not good enough if Tottenham want to win the Premier League title, and it became nine points from 51 following the 2-0 loss against the Gunners.
While the whole Spurs team wasn’t at their best for the fixtures against United and Arsenal, the fact that they have failed to score in either game suggests that their attacking players – who are often praised in the media – aren’t doing enough to influence the encounters.
Eriksen has found the net away against Everton and West Ham United in the Premier League this term, while Alli has scored at Newcastle and Kane at Everton, West Ham and Huddersfield Town, yet they haven’t brought that form to the big games.
Alli certainly had a decent chance to give Tottenham the lead at Old Trafford but he missed, while the front three also lacked the intensity and pressing that they have shown in other games at the Emirates.
The fact that Pochettino’s side had already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League prior to their trip to face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night means that the fixture against the Bundesliga giants can’t even be used as an excuse, and there certainly appears to be a deep-rooted issue.
It certainly isn’t a new problem though, with just one of Kane’s 29 Premier League goals last term coming away against their fellow top six sides – Arsenal in November 2016 – which was matched by Alli despite the fact that he found the net on 18 occasions – his solitary goal came in the draw against Manchester City in January of this year.
Eriksen also scored just the one – against Chelsea in November 2016 – meaning that out of 55 top flight goals between the trio last season, only three of them came against their main rivals.
Now while you can’t criticise the trio for how they are performing in general across the season, you do have to wonder why they aren’t making more of an impact and stamping their authorities on matches at Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge like they are at other grounds.
If it is a mental issue then Pochettino needs to work out how to sort it and quickly, because there is no doubt that Kane, Alli and Eriksen have the ability and quality in front of goal to help their side win matches at the aforementioned stadiums.
So what needs to happen next?
Well, if Tottenham want to have a serious chance of being title contenders this season and in future campaigns, they need their key attacking players to improve and perhaps lose some of the complacency that may have crept into the respective games from the almost constant praise they seem to receive in the media.
Spurs face current leaders Man City away next month, and it will be the perfect opportunity for Kane, Alli and Eriksen to step up, press and take their chances on the road in order to help their side pick up what could be a crucial point, or even three.
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