Arsenal and Spurs on different paths but both must not lose the NLD | OneFootball

As the September international break came around, Tottenham were sat top of the Premier League. They hadn’t conceded a goal on their way to nine points from three games.

Arsenal sat bottom of the table. Pointless and goalless.

Since then, Tottenham have lost 3-0 in both their league outings, to Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Arsenal have beaten both Norwich and Burnley 1-0, which isn’t enough to say they’re back on track but does at least have them travelling in the right direction.

So as the teams enter this weekend’s north London derby, a negative result could send either spiralling into crisis. Still, they find themselves at very different stages as clubs and Tottenham are the ones that can’t afford that setback.

Nuno Espírito Santo has struggled to get Tottenham going in possession so far this season and there is only so long that can continue before he’ll run into serious questions about his performance. In Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Spurs have two of the most gifted attacking players in the world but aren’t getting nearly enough from them.

After a summer of uncertainty, Harry Kane has stayed in north London but only mustered a shot every 72 minutes across his four league appearances this season.

The England striker missed all of pre-season after his Euro 2020 exploits and saying his Premier League season has started slowly would be an understatement. Son has started more quickly but has since slowed down. Those two are the stars at Spurs and are now 28 and 29 respectively. The club needs a consistent tune out of them for the next few years, because replacing them as they decline will be a nightmare.

Tottenham are still built with the present in mind and there aren’t too many reasons to think things will improve considerably later down the line.

That’s where Arsenal differ.

Things are still urgent on the red side of north London. Arsenal have entered a season without European football for the first time since 1995/96 and a fifth season in a row without competing in the Champions League. Mikel Arteta, now almost two years into the job, is still very much on trial.

Arsenal have really struggled to create chances for a while now and Arteta doesn’t seem all that much closer to figuring it out.

He does, though, now have a young team of his own. A team that will learn and develop. The average age of players on the pitch for Arsenal so far this season is 25.1, the youngest in the Premier League, and the line-up that started against Norwich was the youngest the club have put out in a Premier League game since May 2011.

Arteta has consistently asked for patience but, at the same time, accepted that results are desperately needed.

Obviously, long term thinking goes out of the window for the clubs when they meet. Only the derby matters. But with both facing a season of uncertainty, and already experiencing serious disappointments before September is even over, this feels a lot more like a must not lose game for both sides than a must win game for either.