Spurs could be without one of their top-scorers v Arsenal

in , , , , , , ,

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed they may be without Erik Lamela for their north London derby clash with Arsenal on Sunday. 

Lamela suffered a thigh injury during the midweek Champions League win against Inter Milan.

How badly would Spurs miss Lamela v Arsenal? Five key things to know…

  1. Lamela joined Spurs from Roma in 2013 for £27m.
  2. The Argentine was sidelined for over a year but been a key squad player since returning in November 2017.
  3. Said improvement has earned the 26-year-old a recall to the Argentina national team for the first time in two years.
  4. A win against Arsenal on Sunday would temporarily take Spurs level on points with second-place Liverpool.
  5. But they might find it harder to so without their second-top scorer in the Premier League this season Lamela (four goals).

Only Harry Kane (7) has more top-flight goals for Pochettino’s side this season than Lamela, who has hit the back of the net once every 110 minutes on average. But Spurs have confirmed the Argentina forward’s fitness is being assessed ahead of their north London derby clash with Arsenal this weekend.

Lamela is yet to score in a north London derby but given his form this season, Spurs would definitely prefer to have one of their best attacking outlets available, with the 26-year-old hitting eight shots on target this season; only Harry Kane (23) has more.

Would beating Arsenal make Spurs title contenders?

Spurs are currently third in the Premier League and depending upon this weekend’s results, could go as close as two points behind leaders Manchester City with a win at the Emirates.

However, Pochettino has dismissed talk of a title challenge this season, even naming Manchester United as a more likely threat to City, despite the Red Devils currently 14 points from the top of the Premier League table.

The Argentine tactician told by reporters at today’s press conference: “We’re in a very good position in the table. If you consider last season in this moment, I think we had six points less and we improve a lot from last season. We are closer than last season to the top.

“I cannot say we’re a contender for the title. I think Manchester City is in a different level and of course clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea, the same, Manchester United and Arsenal. They make more investment than us and in a different level.

“I think they need to show or be the contenders – or they are the contenders, more than us. But we’re there. If we’re capable in the last few months of the season to be in a good position in the table we’re going to try.

“But football is belief, faith in your quality and then it’s approaching the game in the right attitude and the right way, and all is possible.”

After facing Arsenal, Spurs host Southampton in midweek before travelling to play Leicester next weekend. Then comes the decisive Champions League trip to Barcelona’s Camp Nou, where only a win will be good enough to see them through to the knockout stages.

The post Erik Lamela faces fitness test to make Arsenal v Spurs appeared first on Squawka News.



From Squawka NewsSquawka News https://ift.tt/2Rv21E9
Labels: , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)