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Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday during this season, The Athletic will discuss three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s football.

This was the round where Arsenal answered a few critics with another 4-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool boosted their Champions League prospects with a smash-and-grab win at Nottingham Forest, moving them level on points with Chelsea, who stuttered at home to Burnley.

We will ask whether talk over Arsenal’s supposed fragile mentality is valid, question just how much trouble Spurs are in and ponder what on earth has happened to Crystal Palace.

Will Arsenal’s ability or mentality decide the title?

Questions keep being asked of Mikel Arteta’s team and, in their own time, they just about keep answering them.

One month ago, after losing at home against Manchester United and going three league games without a win, their title challenge had hit the rocks, they looked mentally weak and were playing football in treacle.

How did they respond? With emphatic victories over two tough opponents in Sunderland and Leeds United.

In recent days, they have been barracked — not without cause — from all quarters after letting a two-goal lead slip against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a team on track to be one of the worst in Premier League history.

This time, Arsenal’s answer was to dish out yet another north London derby hiding to Spurs, repeating their 4-1 victory from earlier in the season.

There is definitely an element of ‘it’s only Spurs’, given how dreadful Igor Tudor’s new team were. As Declan Rice had correctly suggested in the build-up, a derby against struggling opponents was the ideal follow-up match after the midweek slump at Wolves.

But given how another individual mistake from an Arsenal player, this time Rice, gifted Randal Kolo Muani the opportunity to equalise in the first half, Arsenal deserve credit for showing the mental fortitude to overcome adversity and reclaim their five-point lead at the top.

They have not been in imperious form this year — four wins, four draws and one defeat from nine league matches in 2026 — but evidence is starting to stack up that mentality is less the question that Arsenal have to answer this season. It’s just about whether they’re good enough to stave off Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s mind games have started in earnest. His call for City’s players to have a few days of cocktails and “enjoy life” could not be more at odds with Mikel Arteta’s “go and do something else” rallying cry on Friday, when stating that if his players couldn’t handle the “noise”, they should play for a different club.

Life feels intense at Arsenal right now, what with team meetings and firm chats after the Wolves debacle, but that’s the course Arteta has plotted.

Even the Tottenham stadium announcer played the mentality card, shouting that Arsenal were “worried” and “nervous as hell” before kick-off, but it increasingly feels that Arsenal’s fluidity from open play, for example, is far more relevant than how much bottle they’ve got.

Was it really mentality that saw them put in such a stodgy performance at Wolves? Or were they just very poor from open play? Conversely, at Spurs, was it a sudden newfound winning mentality that led to them winning so comfortably, or was is Bukayo Saka being back in his best position on the pitch to set up the opener, or Viktor Gyokeres finding his shooting boots (with help from flat-footed defenders) with probably his best performance and certainly his best day in an Arsenal shirt?

And then Eberechi Eze, with, remarkably, his first shots on target in the league since his hat-trick in the reverse fixture, produced his best form in months and cut through a desperately fragile Spurs midfield.

It all came together on one of Arsenal’s best days of the season. Finding that rhythm and flow in attacking positions is the key to them winning the Premier League.

Are Spurs the worst team in the league right now?

“Thinking about relegation doesn’t bring you anything to anybody.”

Tudor may not want to think about it, but Tottenham fans may be thinking about little else until their team starts winning again.

Spurs actually had a better weekend than many of their long-suffering supporters will have probably expected. Sure, they lost the derby, no surprise there, but Forest losing in stoppage time against Liverpool and West Ham United failing to beat Bournemouth were two very good results for Tottenham, who faced being in 17th and only two points above relegation had everything gone against them this weekend.

Relegation remains a distinct possibility and while we can’t judge the ‘Croatian Sam Allardyce’ on this performance alone, there will be concerns Spurs have not shown an instant improvement simply because Thomas Frank has left.

“The team is full of problems,” Tudor added, in the understatement of the weekend.

His usual approach of ranting, raving and generally firing rockets at players to get them to perform may have to be quelled a touch here, given how utterly bereft of confidence his new team look.

You also have to question whether his preferred three-at-the-back formation is necessary, seeing as Spurs don’t have enough defenders or wing-backs to play that system. Joao Palhinha at centre-back and Archie Gray at wing-back don’t feel like solutions to the squad’s injury problems.

A rare glimpse of positivity at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the atmosphere was briefly flavoured by hope and optimism before kick-off, soon dissipated and when the clock turned to 90 minutes, the stands were almost empty.

Nine league games in 2026, no wins, four draws, 18 goals conceded… is there a team playing worse in the league? The form table says no (their nine-game record is three points worse than anyone else, with Burnley and Wolves on seven points). Spurs’ trajectory is heading towards the Championship.

They were inept in the second half against Arsenal, second in every facet of the game. Home games against Forest and Crystal Palace in March loom large. If Tudor can’t inspire improvements by then, the relegation question could become unavoidable.

How sad is Glasner’s fallout with fans?

“The biggest success is not lifting a trophy, it’s that we could give tens of thousands of our fans, south Londoners, a moment for their life — we could give them great times.”

That was Oliver Glasner after guiding Crystal Palace to FA Cup glory last year. It was an emotional press conference on an incredible day. Glasner spoke warmly of giving their supporters a break from the troubles and woes of regular life, giving them joy and happiness for a couple of hours a week. Yep, honestly, Crystal Palace.

Eight months later, a banner unfurled at Selhurst Park on Sunday read: “Fans disrespected — Glasner finished.”

A fortuitous 1-0 win over Wolves, aided by the visitors missing a penalty and having a man sent off, ended Palace’s long wait for a first home win since November, but did nothing to improve relations between Glasner and Palace fans.

They called for him to be sacked last week, he told them to stay humble. It’s all got a bit ugly.

There can still be a happy ending here if, say, Palace win the Conference League, but that looks increasingly less likely. The disintegration of Palace and the relationship between Glasner and the club’s supporters is one of the saddest stories of the season.

Coming up this week

For Arsenal, it was the perfect way to breathe fresh life into their Premier League title charge. For Tottenham Hotspur, a damaging defeat against their north London rivals leaves them worryingly close to the drop zone.

Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze both scored twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to send Mikel Arteta’s side five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, having played a game more than Pep Guardiola’s side.

Arsenal started the brighter side, but their momentum was punctured after communication problems with the match officials led to a six-minute delay.

Eze eventually put Arsenal in front in the 32nd minute, with a right-footed finish after the ball sat up nicely for him following good work by Bukayo Saka. Declan Rice immediately called an on-pitch team meeting to encourage his side to keep their heads, but the England midfielder’s error in possession led to Randal Kolo Muani equalising just two minutes after that opener. It was the Frenchman’s first Premier League goal since joining on loan from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

But Spurs were second-best in Igor Tudor’s first game in charge since replacing Thomas Frank. Arsenal responded in style in the second half, with Gyokeres arrowing home a shot from the edge of the area in the 47th minute. Spurs were frustrated in the 53rd minute when Kolo Muani had the ball in the back of the net for a second time, but he was judged to have pushed Gabriel. Eze gave Arsenal further breathing space in the 61st minute as he made it eight goals in five games against Spurs, the side who tried to sign him last summer.

Gyokeres made sure of the win by running onto a ball and finishing past Guglielmo Vicario in the 94th minute.

Here, Jay Harris, Elias Burke, Art de Roche and Conor O’Neill analyse the key talking points.

How did Eze make his mark again?

For this season at least, the north London derby belongs to Eze. The 27-year-old scored five goals from these two matches.

There seemed to be an element of fate hanging over the match — Eze was named in a starting line-up for just the second league game this calendar year, and his first shot on target since November’s meeting between the sides opened the scoring.

This was a massive chance for Eze. He has not always looked his confident self, but that conviction grew during the game.

For the first time in months in the Premier League, he displayed the feints, nutmegs and quick passes around the corner that make him such a joy to watch.

That confidence seemed to be contagious, as those across the front line were equally impressive throughout.

Gyokeres’ powerful first strike was jaw-dropping, but his all-round performance was much improved even before the goal.

Early in the match, he attacked the left channel to unsettle Spurs’ back line and brought others into play nicely as his side gained control. In the second half, a quick one-two created the opening for Arsenal’s third goal. He returned to the same area to score his second of the game, rounding off his performance nicely.

This might be the blueprint for a true centre-forward display from Gyokeres (illustrated below in his player dashboard). Arteta will also be pleased that his front four functioned well as a whole, not just because of his two scorers.

Saka always performs well against Spurs, with direct goal involvements against them in each of the past five seasons, but he needed to be sharp from the off. Djed Spence was touch-tight within minutes of the kick-off, and Saka was fouled four times inside the opening half-hour, but Arsenal’s captain for the day kept going and was the reason Eze had a chance to open the scoring.

With Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz on their way back from injury, Arteta's options going forward will be a great source of encouragement.

The Arsenal manager got the make-up of his front four right this evening, and will hope the injury that forced Saka off late on will not prevent him from maximising those options in the final 10 league matches of the season.

Art de Roche

What was Rice's mistake for Spurs' equaliser?

Arteta said Arsenal only had themselves to blame after their 2-2 draw away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, and that was the case again with Spurs’ equaliser, which came just 24 seconds after the restart from Eze’s opener.

Rice could be seen imploring his team-mates to focus as they celebrated, but his involvement in Kolo Muani’s goal highlighted how actions speak louder than words.

The England midfielder did well to intercept the initial pass…

… but just outside his own penalty box with two Spurs players bearing down on him, the 27-year-old should have known it was no place to take on an opponent.

Kolo Muani robbed Rice of the ball and drove into the area before firing into the net.

Rice could be seen apologising to his team-mates afterwards.

That was Arsenal’s fifth error leading to a Premier League goal this season. Four of those have been in 2026 — joint-most with Aston Villa since the turn of the year.

Of those five errors, both against Spurs came from staying on the ball too long, two were from loose passes, and the other from a misjudged cross. Most of these seem to come from players not being aware of their surroundings, which brings their overall concentration into question.

Rice was not the only player guilty of making an error that provided Spurs with an opening.

Arsenal started the game well, having five shots to Spurs' zero in the opening 20 minutes. In the 10 minutes between then and Eze’s goal, however, each member of their back line gifted possession to Tottenham and helped them back into the game.

These issues have been holding Arsenal back for weeks. The longer those mistakes occur after they go ahead, the harder it will be for Arteta's side to maintain their lead in the title race against Manchester City.

Thankfully for Arsenal, it did not matter on Sunday. Arteta will be pleased by their reaction after the break. Before the game, he spoke of the need for his team to keep the ball for extended periods to help kill games off, and they did that well.

David Raya also showed that, even after his mistake in midweek, his contributions will be vital. Earlier in the season, Raya made many saves at vital moments to either keep Arsenal level or ahead. This time, it helped them extend their lead.

Art de Roche

What was Spurs' post-Frank atmosphere like?

Frank never connected with the Spurs fan base and boos became a regular sound at home and away games. Spurs only won two of their 13 home league games during the former Brentford coach's brief time in charge.

The atmosphere felt completely different on Sunday. Former Spurs winger David Ginola was a guest on television for foreign media and he was warmly applauded before kick-off, before stadium announcer Paul Coyte gave a rousing speech. A pre-match video on the big screens was greeted with a roar when Spurs were described as "north London originals", while there was an impressive tifo (banner) in the South Stand.

Spurs fans roared when Micky van de Ven clattered the ball into the stands in the opening minute and booed every time Eze, who they unsuccessfully tried to sign in the summer, touched the ball. They chanted Dele Alli’s name and gave their former midfielder a moving reception at half-time when he was interviewed on the pitch.

In the 23rd minute, Yves Bissouma charged down Eze and Leandro Trossard from an Arsenal free kick, which was cleared. He did something similar 60 seconds later, won a foul from Piero Hincapie and the crowd went wild. It felt like the fans had been liberated following Frank’s dismissal and were full of enthusiasm and energy again.

Crucially, they did not drop their heads after Eze opened the scoring, and the reaction to Kolo Muani’s equaliser was stirring.

The fans were slightly more subdued in the second half, especially as Arsenal went ahead so early, but the exodus only began when Gyokeres scored their rivals' fourth.

Jay Harris

Did Tudor change anything for Spurs?

With only 12 games to make his mark, Tudor has little time to implement sweeping tactical changes in an injury-depleted squad.

But he did instigate a change in shape here, with Tottenham lining up in the Croatian’s preferred 3-5-2 formation. As in the reverse fixture, however, the gap in quality meant they ceded almost total control and struggled to impose any on-ball identity. They had just 28 per cent possession in the first half, their lowest in any game this season.

The share was more balanced in the second half (illustrated by the game-end stats above) but Spurs remained narrow and compact, intent on limiting Arsenal through the middle. Despite Arsenal’s dominance, Spurs showed aggression without the ball. This was most evident in their attempts to lock down Saka, with Tottenham’s players sprinting out to swarm him whenever he received possession out wide.

A player of Saka’s quality can only be shackled for so long, though. His persistence down the right eventually paid off when he wriggled past Pape Matar Sarr and teed up Eze for the opener.

Tottenham’s tenacity was not just confined to their defenders, as shown when Kolo Muani picked Rice’s pocket for the equaliser.

There is no secret tactical formula capable of bridging the gulf between an injury-hit side fighting relegation and a title contender, and that showed in the emphatic scoreline. But Tudor will take some encouragement from Spurs' improved intensity. Their previous passivity ultimately cost Frank his job.

Tottenham fans will hope that, if that effort can be sustained for their remaining 11 games, it helps steer them clear of relegation trouble.

Conor O'Neill

What does this mean for the title race and relegation fight?

A trip to their north London rivals with a buoyant crowd and a new manager in charge was a potential banana skin for Arsenal.

But their quality shone through in what was their fifth successive win against Spurs. With another London derby coming up — they host Chelsea next Sunday — their performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium took them five points clear of Manchester City and provided a timely confidence booster.

At the opposite end of the table, the defeat leaves Tottenham just four points above West Ham United in 18th. Spurs are yet to win a league game in 2026 and have lost three on the bounce. Next Sunday, they are away to Fulham, who impressed with a 3-1 win over Sunderland today, a week before hosting Crystal Palace, the last team to lose against Spurs in the league.

Perhaps Tudor will take some encouragement from Kolo Muani finally opening his Premier League account for Spurs, but relegation remains a real prospect for a club that has not played second-tier football since the 1970s.

Elias Burke

What did Tudor say?

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the Spurs interim head coach admitted morale was low. “We need to come out from this moment,” Tudor said. “The only way is work, stay quiet, stay humble, stay where we are now and look at the future. Growing day by day, week by week.

“I'm sad because it was not good enough. Arsenal was much better. There is too much of a gap between the two teams. It's good to see this kind of team at the start — to show us where we need to be. It's about work, to work hard because we struggle in a lot of things.

“We need to run more, we need to play better, we need to defend better, we need to win duels, second duels, second balls.

“We prepared these four, five days but they were faster, even I can say that the players showed the passion, they wanted to run, but we pressed high. They (Arsenal) believe more, that is the key in the end. And that's it, so take the lessons.”

What did Arteta say?

In contrast, the Arsenal manager was unsurprisingly full of praise, claiming he always expected his players to respond positively to the 2-2 draw against Wolves. “I saw the reaction and what it means,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “When it’s a job, you don’t react like this — but when it’s your passion, and you love the game so much, that’s something else and it hurts you in a different way. I know what it means to them and how much they want it.

“You rewatch the game against Wolves (and think), ‘How the hell do you drop two points there?’. Nobody can explain it. But this is the beauty of it. It looks like it's the end of the world — but the attitude, the desire and dominance we showed today was really impressive. I’m really happy.

Arteta also thought it was Gyokeres' best performance since joining in the summer, adding that “his overall play was incredible”.

What next for Spurs?

Sunday, March 1: Fulham (Away), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET

What next for Arsenal?

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are level at half time in the north London derby in the Premier League.

An Eberechi Eze volley on 32 minutes put Mikel Arteta’s side ahead, before Randal Kolo Muani equalised after stealing the ball off Declan Rice just two minutes later.

Mikel Arteta’s league leaders are looking for a response to their disappointing midweek draw at bottom side Wolves. Tottenham, under newly appointed interim manager Igor Tudor, are fighting to avoid relegation after a disastrous season so far.

How to watch: Sky Sports (UK), USA Network (U.S.)

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Little hiding how much Arsenal had of that first half, but Tottenham won’t feel like they are out of the hunt for a win here. They’ll just need to be much more efficient than their visitors.

HT: Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal

Possession %: 27 — 73

Shots: 2 — 12

On target: 1 — 3

XG: 0.29 — 1.00

Big chances: 0 — 3

Blocked shots: 1 — 5

Touches in opposition box: 1 — 29

Duels won: 27 — 31

Dispossessed: 7 — 8

Getting into the Arsenal box would help too, of course.

There have been some interesting battles out there but the bright start from Bukayo Saka was something to behold.

He has been on some mazy runs and has caused problems today — can he be the difference in the second half?

Declan Rice, in particular, will not want to see that Spurs goal again.

His error in dallying on the ball allowed Kolo Muani to steal in and slam the ball home for the equaliser.

And that was just moments after the midfielder had called his team mates together to call for calm heads following Eze’s opener. Jinxed.

Gabriel is a touch fortunate to get away with that incident on Randal Kolo Muani.

The French striker was chasing down an Archie Gray lofted pass behind the Arsenal defender, which would have put him in on goal, when Gabriel — focused on Kolo Muani’s run — pulled his arm across the Spurs striker, forcing him down.

Had the referee decided it was a foul, it would have almost certainly been a red card for the Arsenal No 6.

A lengthy amount of added time here after those issues with the officials’ technology earlier. Eight minutes in total.

Meanwhile, it appears Declan Rice was the one pointing to his head and shouting at his team-mates immediately after Eberechi Eze scored — trying to remind his colleagues to not do anything stupid now they were ahead.

A few seconds later, Rice was the one losing the ball in his own defensive third as Spurs equalised.

The hands went up in apology pretty quickly after that.

Credit again to Radu Dragusin here, who’s had an impressive first half.

After recovering from an ACL injury that kept him sidelined for almost a year, the Romania international centre-back has played more minutes than anyone expected with injury and suspension issues across the backline.

Since returning to the team, he’s proven he can be relied upon.

It’s been a good response from Arsenal since the equaliser, and Leandro Trossard was within a few inches of rolling the ball the right side of the far post.

But Conor Gallagher’s involvement in the game is growing too, and this match is bubbling away very nicely right now.

A little bit of admin too. Archie Gray was booked in the aftermath of Spurs’ goal for kicking the ball away.

It’s been a good response from Arsenal since the equaliser, and Leandro Trossard was within a few inches of rolling the ball the right side of the far post.

But Conor Gallagher’s involvement in the game is growing too, and this match is bubbling away very nicely right now.

A little bit of admin too. Archie Gray was booked in the aftermath of Spurs’ goal for kicking the ball away.

Arsenal had control of the first 20 minutes of this match, but errors from each player in their backline and now Declan Rice have given Spurs a way back into the game.

That has been a theme of too many of their matches since the turn of the year, and when so many come in one half, punishment will come as a result.

They worked their opener well, but that work has been undermined.

Bukayo Saka makes it by his change of pace on the right, beating Pape Matar Sarr and pulling the ball back.

The first touch from Eze loops the ball up, and the second volleys home from about eight yards.

Lovely composed finish, that.

The north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal was delayed for six minutes on Sunday due a technical issue with one of the match officials’ communication devices.

Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres fired a shot wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s post in the seventh minute of the game before referee Peter Bankes brought a halt to proceedings. The assistant referee on the far side of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium appeared to have issues with his communication and the game was paused for several minutes.

Bankes went over to explain the situation to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose side had started brighter and were in control of the game through the opening phases.

The match was eventually restarted with a goal kick in the 13th minute and eight minutes were added on in stoppage time at the end of the first half.

Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville described the situation as an “absolute shambles” on the broadcast.

“This is ridiculous, the whole game cannot stop just because of an IT issue — this is an absolute nonsense, one of the most important games of the season and the players all now have to reset,” said Neville.

“This is an absolute nonsense. One of the most important games of the season, fantastic start to it, really quick. And we’re now two or three minutes stopped, players having to sort of re-warm up again, reset. Absolute shambles.”

Eberechi Eze opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with his fourth goal against Spurs this season before Randal Kolo Muani scored the equaliser two minutes later.

Arsenal look to get their title charge back on track on Sunday afternoon when they travel up the Seven Sisters Road to take on north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The gap at the top is now just two points after Manchester City fought their way past Newcastle United on Saturday night.

Spurs may be languishing towards the bottom of the Premier League, but with a new interim manager in the form of Igor Tudor, could they cause an upset?

The Athletic’s Jay Harris and Art de Roche — Spurs and Arsenal correspondents respectively — look ahead to the match…

How is the mood among the fans going in to this derby…?

Harris: Morale has been low as Tottenham’s fanbase struggle to come to terms with the reality that they are in a relegation battle. Last season’s calamitous performances in the Premier League were supposed to be a one-off.

The atmosphere at the stadium has been toxic for months and Arsenal’s arrival on Sunday had been filling supporters with dread. That gloom should be lifted at least slightly following Thomas Frank’s dismissal last week. Frank failed to bond with the fans but they will back interim head coach Tudor.

The Croatian spoke about playing “offensive football” in his first interview with the club and those words have been a welcome tonic for supporters who quickly grew sick of Frank’s pragmatic tactics.

Arsenal’s midweek slip at Wolves will also give hope that Spurs can get something here after all.

De Roche: Morale is similarly low among Arsenal supporters. That midweek draw dented hopes of finally lifting the Premier League, and ultimately, brought back a familiar and foreboding feeling ahead of the run-in.

If ever there was a game to act as a pick-me-up for the fanbase, this would be it. The north London derby is significant no matter the gap between the teams in the league, and the away support will have fond recent memories of these encounters with Arsenal winning their last three at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

There is no doubt that the home crowd will take joy from pointing out Arsenal’s midweek hiccup early on, but that could be exactly what Mikel Arteta’s players need to hear to get into gear. Not just this weekend, but for the rest of the season too.

What are the aims for the rest of the season?

Harris: Spurs need to start picking up points quickly to move away from the relegation zone. They are yet to win a league game in 2026 and have only tasted victory twice in their last 17 league fixtures. Spurs are struggling to cope with an injury crisis for the second season in a row and it will be a difficult task for Tudor to arrest their plummeting form. Tudor confirmed in his first press conference on Friday that only 13 senior players took part in training before this match.

Frank managed to guide them to a fourth-placed finish in the initial phase of the Champions League, which means they will face either Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray or Club Brugge in the last 16 next month. Depending upon your outlook, those games are either a welcome distraction from their domestic woes or an extra burden on a squad already stretched to its limit.

De Roche: Arsenal’s aims have not changed despite the disappointment at Wolves. They will still be looking to mount a charge to win the Premier League, and beyond that, at least the Carabao Cup too.

There is a feeling that they could (and maybe should) have had a bigger advantage at the top of the league, but now they know they are in a battle. There is next to no room for error now, which may be a tough task for a team which has won just two of their last seven in the league.

While results in 2026 have been frustrating, Arsenal’s schedule has been relentless. Next week will be the first time this calendar year without a midweek fixture. With Chelsea coming to the Emirates after the short trip to Spurs, this could be a pivotal week if Arsenal use it the right way.

Who has impressed you most in the opposition team this season?

Harris: Jurrien Timber is probably the best right-back in the division. He is an exceptional one-v-one defender, offers a threat going forward and is incredibly robust. It feels like all of Tottenham’s full-backs only offer one of those attributes.

In midfield, Spurs sorely miss someone with the ability of Martin Odegaard to cut opponents open with incisive passes.

De Roche: This feels like very slim pickings. Injuries are a big factor, as Dejan Kulusevski has been a player I’ve enjoyed watching in past seasons, but this year it feels like Micky van de Ven takes this by default. He seems like one of Spurs’ most reliable players, when fit, especially when alongside Cristian Romero. It probably says a lot about both teams that both picks have been defenders, though.

How do you expect your club’s manager to set up for this game?

Harris: During his time in charge of Marseille, Lazio and Juventus, Tudor largely favoured a 3-4-2-1 formation. Two No 10s would roam behind the central striker and it brought him short-term success in all of those roles. Tudor could replicate this with Spurs by putting Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel behind Dominic Solanke or Randal Kolo Muani, who thrived under Tudor at Juventus.

But Tottenham’s squad has been wrecked by injuries. Key players including Pedro Porro, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are unavailable.

Tudor admitted in his first interview with the club that he needs “to find the best system that suits the players that are available at this moment”. He has a limited amount of time to come up with the tactical approach at Spurs.

De Roche: This has become a bit more difficult to predict given that Arteta has said that there is a big possibility that Kai Havertz and Odegaard will be available after their respective injuries.

Havertz’s return from injury helped improve Arsenal’s performances towards the end of January and start of February, but he played in the position of Odegaard (and now Saka) in recent games.

Arteta could play all of them by using Odegaard in midfield, Saka on the wing and Havertz up front, or could get more creative depending on how long each can play. That trio would give Arsenal’s attack a much more familiar feel to previous seasons, which could help.

Further down the pitch, who starts at full-back now becomes an interesting decision. Timber is Arsenal’s second-most used player this season in all competitions behind Martin Zubimendi, and has not had the impact he did earlier in the season of late.

Ben White was fatigued towards the end of the FA Cup match against Wigan Athletic, but this could be a timely opportunity to bring him back into the fold to provide more attacking threat on the right. On the left, even though Piero Hincapie scored his first Arsenal goal at Wolves, Riccardo Calafiori has looked better in the role and is back fit.

Those units across the pitch could be key to Arsenal looking like a team in rhythm come Sunday.

Reason to be optimistic?

Harris: All of the pressure is on Arsenal, especially after that draw in midweek. Everybody is expecting Spurs to get rolled over because of their horrendous form, the lack of players available and what happened when these two sides met in November. But if Spurs come out fighting — and benefit from ‘new manager bounce’ — they could give Arsenal a nasty surprise.

De Roche: Arsenal have a few factors in their favour. They usually come away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with three points, they have beaten five of the six new managers they have faced this season and have a better squad than Spurs.

Application from start to finish will be a major factor in the result.

Their last three away wins over Spurs have come in different ways too. Last season was more of a smash-and-grab 1-0 win, but the previous season they were 3-0 up at half-time. There will be uncertain moments, but this particular fixture has shown Arsenal can handle wobbles. They just need to rediscover that ability after sizeable ones against Wolves and Brentford.

Reason to be pessimistic?

Harris: Spurs were embarrassed by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last year. Eberechi Eze, who Spurs tried to sign in the summer, scored a hat-trick for his boyhood club to really rub salt in the wound.

Arsenal have underperformed in the league in 2026 but they have a frightening amount of attacking talent to choose from. Radu Dragusin is still working his way back to full sharpness after missing 11 months out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and he has to contend with Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, Bukayo Saka and more. Captain Romero is only one game into a four-match ban. If Tudor does go for a back three, midfielder Joao Palhinha will probably have to fill in at centre-back again, alongside Dragusin and Van de Ven.

De Roche: While Arsenal tend to do well at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, this season their away form has not been as strong as it once was.

Five of their seven draws have come away from home. Looking back to their previous title races with Manchester City, they only drew three away matches apiece in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Their two most recent away matches (Brentford and Wolves) have also ended all square despite them taking the lead. That partly comes down to matches being left open, to which Arteta said: “What we can do before that (conceding when ahead) to prevent that happening is still improvable, and in the attacking process, the first half we had very different outcomes. In the second half as well, a very, very open situation. We didn’t even finish with a chance. So, a lot of room to improve.”

How about a prediction…?

Harris: I suspect Spurs might lose but it will certainly be a tighter game than the 4-1 defeat last year. I’m going for 2-1 with Simons scoring for Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur’s sporting director Johan Lange sat down with a group of reporters on Friday, including The Athletic, to reflect on a turbulent few weeks.

Spurs have not won a Premier League game in 2026 and are five points above the relegation zone. They have only two victories in their last 17 top-flight fixtures and this alarming form led to the dismissal of head coach Thomas Frank. He was sacked eight months into a three-year contract and has been replaced by former Juventus, Marseille and Lazio head coach Igor Tudor on an interim basis.

At the beginning of February, Fabio Paratici joined Italian side Fiorentina just over three months after being appointed as co-sporting director alongside Lange. Spurs signed Conor Gallagher and Souza in the winter transfer window but have suffered a series of injuries, which means their squad is in a perilous state.

Tudor said he was “100 per cent” certain that Spurs would still be in the Premier League next season but admitted it was an “emergency situation.”

Lange addressed all of those topics, and The Athletic has analysed the key talking points…

On sacking Thomas Frank

“As the leaders, we of course constantly evaluate performances, we evaluate results. And after the Newcastle game, we made the decision. Ultimately, of course, it was a board decision. But we made the decision and that was why we decided it was the right time to change (…)

“Of course, we wanted to give Thomas every opportunity to succeed, but ultimately, it’s our responsibility to make the decisions. And we came to that point where we saw the performances, the results, and then you come to that decision (…)

“I think you saw over a period of time, with the performances and the results, why we came to that conclusion.”

Lange and Frank worked together for the first time around 20 years ago at Danish second-division side B.93. They crossed paths again at Lyngby before they had individual success in English football with Aston Villa and Brentford, respectively. Unfortunately, their reunion at Spurs turned sour. They had a close bond but it was Lange and chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham who informed Frank he was losing his job.

Lange and Venkatesham offered Frank a lot of support. They surrounded him with experienced assistant coaches and gave him time to turn results around after fans became concerned following disappointing defeats by Chelsea and Arsenal in November.

Frank insisted performances were encouraging until the very end. He saw a four-match unbeaten run, which included scraping a draw against Burnley, as a positive. The club’s fans did not agree, and Lange and the rest of the board clearly felt that those results masked disappointing performances. Spurs made a habit of starting games slowly and looking better in the second half but were never convincing.

Back-to-back defeats by Manchester United and Newcastle United were the final straw for Lange, Venkatesham and the board.

On the appointment of Igor Tudor

“When you make the decision (to sack a manager during the season), it’s very important to go into a shorter process than you do if you are changing a head coach over the summer. We interviewed a few candidates, and Igor impressed us very much. Obviously, we also got some references for Igor.

“He comes in with very big experience at the highest level in football. He has shown the capabilities of coming into clubs around this time — February, March — and making an immediate impact. That was of course a very big reason. There is a big difference, if you are a coach, for example, who has only ever started a new job on July 1. You have six or seven weeks to prepare and to get to know the club.

“If you come in here on the Monday and you are playing at the weekend, you need to build relationships with the players and assess the style of the club immediately. He has shown that with great success, not only once but a few times. That is one of the reasons we believe he is the best candidate for (the club’s situation) now. But of course also with his reputation and what he’s done in his career, if things go well, he could be here for a long time.”

Tudor ticks a lot of boxes for Spurs. He has no experience of the Premier League but was an assistant coach to Andrea Pirlo at Juventus in the 2020-21 season and had a seven-month spell in charge of the Italian side last year. He is accustomed to working for a club with big expectations.

During his time working with Pirlo, Juventus’ squad included Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini — as well as current Spurs players Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur and Radu Dragusin. The Athletic reported last week that Frank experienced difficulty maintaining discipline in Spurs’ squad, but Tudor has experience managing big egos.

Tudor likes to play a 3-4-2-1 system and, crucially, in previous mid-season roles at Udinese, Juventus and Lazio, it has not taken long for the squad to adapt to his ideas. Spurs considered their former striker Robbie Keane as a replacement for Frank on an interim basis and that option would have appealed to supporters. But in Tudor, they have hired someone with a track record of making an immediate impact.

Lange refused to confirm whether Spurs spoke to Paratici, who previously worked with Tudor at Juventus, during the hiring process.

On the manager position, longer-term

“(Style of play) is definitely something high up on the list. We are very ambitious to create a team that can play dominant football and that can control matches with the ball for a few reasons.

“If you look across almost every league in the world, that is how the top teams normally are successful: being able to dominate possession, create chances, be aggressive without the ball.

“Then we are also a club with a rich history of having some of the best offensive players in the world and having a very particular style of play that resonates with the history, resonates with the fans and I think that combined with having a possession-dominant, aggressive style of play, those two things go hand in hand. Of course that is something that is important for us here at the club.

(Have the club discussed permanent options? Mauricio Pochettino?) “Igor has been here for five days. Our focus right now is to get high up in the table in the league, focusing on the Champions League as well. I am not going to comment on any names that have been linked to the job.”

Lange kept his cards close to his chest, but it was important to acknowledge that hiring a manager who can implement an attractive style of football is crucial for the fans. They became disillusioned during Frank’s reign because Spurs struggled to create chances from open play and only won two of their 13 home games in the league.

Lange, Venkatesham and the rest of the board should identify the club’s preferred style of play. They should then hire a head coach who they believe can fit into that mould. For too long, Spurs have jumped between managers with different ideas, Frank and Ange Postecoglou are the prime example of that, which means there is no consistency across their recruitment. They end up with a squad consisting of players who suit different tactical systems.

Last summer, they were interested in Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Fulham head coach Marco Silva before they appointed Frank. The only thing those three had in common was that they were in charge of ‘smaller’ Premier League sides. It would be encouraging to see Spurs demonstrate a clear vision of who they target to replace Frank instead of assembling a list of talented managers with wildly different ideas.

On whether the club hierarchy deems the current situation unacceptable

“We have just changed the coach. We are very clear that we think we have a team that has the potential to do more, so the focus right now is to get higher up the table and then be super competitive in the Champions League. I am sure you have been to many great nights at the stadium in Europe over the last two seasons and it is our hope that we can create more magic moments in that tournament, but we also know that we need to get higher in the (Premier League) table.

“When you work in sports across football or individual sports, it is about focus on the performance. When you are among players or coaches, the focus is on the next training session, it is on the next game. That is the reality of working in sports. It is not talking about (but) of course we know where we want to go as a club and we can come back to that, but the focus right now is in the moment.

“When you work for a big club like Tottenham, then pressure, or what you want to call it, is part of it. I’m sitting here today because I want to take responsibility for the club, everything that comes into football. Part of being here is expectations. That is part of why it’s fantastic to be here, because if you are working for a big club, there are big expectations, but also big opportunities and big possibilities.

“If you work for a very small club, if you work for a club with fewer fans, then maybe there’s less pressure or expectation. I think we are a big club and we work with high expectations and that is what I, personally, really, really love working here because of the expectations.”

Lange has come under a lot of scrutiny in the last few weeks, so he deserves credit for speaking publicly. Lange and Tudor — who held his first press conference a couple of hours later — both skilfully skipped around the word relegation.

Lange’s desire for more “magic moments” in the Champions League is admirable, but perhaps that should be a longer-term ambition, even with next month’s round-of-16 tie against either Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Juventus or Atletico Madrid.

He is right to acknowledge that the focus has to be on climbing the Premier League table.

On transfers and Postecoglou saying Spurs don’t spend like a big club

“Now we are playing a different (Champions League) format, it means every point counts. You go into matchday eight — correct me if I’m wrong — but almost every team in the Champions League or Europa League had something to play for, whether that was better seeding or top eight. You are playing through December. Not in the beginning of January but the last part of January. You are playing two very competitive matches with the fact that not only us but a lot of teams have what they would say are too many injuries.

“It meant that in January, very few players who could make a difference for us now or in the future were available and then it’s back to the point even though the squad is too short we still have players we are unable to register for the last 16. So to bring in players that cannot help us now or we don’t believe have potential for the future, that unfortunately for me doesn’t make sense. And if you analyse all the transfers in January, I think everyone can see there were very few players available.

“That is reality and then as you say looking towards the summer the message has been clear from the owners of the club, Vinai has been on record saying this as well. I have been saying this as well and very happy to repeat it: that the sole focus of this club is to create on-pitch success. It is to be competitive across different tournaments and, very importantly, one of the ingredients in doing that is if you have a squad capable of competing on multiple fronts and we are not there yet but that is the clear vision.”

Lange refused to directly address criticism from former head coach Postecoglou and he did not give an insight into Tottenham’s long-term recruitment strategy. Spurs signed Gallagher and Souza in January but they sold Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace. At a time when Frank needed help, he was left with a squad filled with holes.

Lange’s comments in the previous section about “big opportunities” at a big club are relevant here. It sounds nice, but all of the momentum from winning last season’s Europa League was thrown away. Spurs wasted an opportunity in the aftermath by failing to land any of their first-choice transfer targets, including Morgan Gibbs-White, Eberechi Eze and Antoine Semenyo (Lange also said he understood fans’ frustration with Frank’s apparent satisfaction with how close the club came to signing Semenyo, acknowledging that they wanted to see action and not words).

Lange also referenced comments Venkatesham made in the matchday programme before last month’s defeat by West Ham United about growing the wage bill to be competitive. It is encouraging that Lange and Venkatesham recognise an area where Spurs need to catch up to their rivals, but actions speak louder than words. They need to show they have learned from their mistakes this summer.

This was the first transfer window since former executive chairman Daniel Levy left in September. Paratici’s impending exit will have affected the dynamics, while Carlos Raphael Moersen has been appointed to the newly-created role of director of football operations.

It will be hoped that things will be more settled going forward.

Injuries

“What is very important to say is that on the one hand we have a short squad and on the other hand we also had players who could not be registered for European competitions because we have too many players. It is without a doubt, especially during the month of January, that we had too many injuries. Every time we played, we lost players. It’s something we are constantly reviewing with the greatest level of seriousness.

“I think if you are unpicking the injuries that we had in January, then a few of them were actually contact injuries, or I don’t know if it is the right word in English, but solo injuries. Odobert, the knee goes or Ben Davies or Lucas Bergvall or Kevin Danso — you have four of the injuries that are contact injuries/solo injuries. But of course it has been across the league that all the teams that are playing in European competition are suffering from injuries and that is something we are taking very very seriously to make sure that we, let’s say, optimise everything for less injuries and our new performance director (Dan Lewindon) started last week as well and that is just one step in that direction.”

Lange has avoided directly addressing the real issue, which is the number of soft-tissue muscle injuries that Spurs have suffered in the last couple of months. Destiny Udogie is ruled out for up to five weeks with a hamstring problem, Djed Spence missed two games with a calf issue, and Mohammed Kudus will not return until April due to a quad injury. Pedro Porro, Richarlison and Bentancur have missed a significant number of games too.

Spurs are grappling with an injury crisis for the second season in a row. The expanded Champions League and the Europa League are undoubtedly factors, but Spurs need to identify areas for improvement.

Maybe it is the consequence of a dizzying amount of change in the medical department over the last two years. It is hoped that the appointment of Lewindon will provide stability and leadership to prevent their injury list from being so severe in the future.

On Cristian Romero’s future

“Romero is here; he is our captain. He is here on a long-term contract with the club and that is my comment. We have been clear as a club that we have dealt with (his comments on social media about the club hierarchy) internally and now it is about being together, all of us, and finish the season in the best possible way in the league and in Europe.”

Before Frank was sacked, Romero was the centre of attention for his awful disciplinary record and habit of firing shots at the club hierarchy on social media. He is currently serving a four-match ban after he was sent off in the defeat by Manchester United — his fourth suspension of the season.

Lange’s stance on the club captain was understandably diplomatic. He highlights that Romero has a contract until 2029 but he does not go out of his way to compliment the centre-back. Lange has not mentioned selling the Argentina international, but he does not emphatically state a desire to keep him either. It is still unclear exactly how Romero was punished for his latest outburst on social media after the transfer window closed.

Spurs need Romero back available for the run-in, but this may be a saga that rumbles on in the background over the next few months.

A Swedish politician has compared the government’s handling of the economy to the running of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, saying Sweden is at risk of becoming “Spursy”.

Mikael Damberg, of the opposition Social Democratic Party, took aim at struggling Spurs during a debate on fiscal policy in the Swedish parliament, known as the Riksdag, on Thursday.

“I naturally think of Tottenham Hotspur, also known as Spurs, it is one of England’s most distinguished and rich clubs with an enormous stadium, dedicated and large supporter base – everything to be considered a ‘top team’,” said Damberg, who was the country’s minister for finance from October 2021 to November 2022.

“Despite this, Tottenham find themselves in crisis. They are fighting at the bottom of the table, just a few points above the relegation zone. Not because they lack resources or benefits, but because they have squandered opportunities.

“The club have been given the name ‘Spursy’, (which is) when you have opportunities but get no results. Madame Speaker, that is precisely how the minister of finance is handling the Swedish economy.

“Sweden has the power, ability and resources. We have the companies, workforce and innovation capabilities. Conditions exits for the Swedish economy to prosper.”

He added: “The government risks making Sweden ‘Spursy’. That won’t do. Sweden cannot perform like Tottenham.”

Tottenham were ninth in the latest Deloitte Money League, ranking the highest revenue-generating clubs in world football, with an estimated turnover of $672.6million (£499.3m) in 2025. The club won the Europa League in May, their first trophy in 17 years.

They are, however, currently 16th in the English top-flight, five points from the relegation zone, having finished 17th last season. Spurs host league leaders and rivals Arsenal on Sunday in their first game under interim head coach Igor Tudor, after dismissing Thomas Frank, the Croatian’s predeccessor, following a dismal start to the year.

Spurs’ two Swedish stars, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall, have boosted the club’s popularity in the Scandinavian country in recent years.

Ange Postecoglou approached his interview with Gary Neville and the Stick to Football team armed with stories of his rise from the “factory floor” to winning silverware in four countries and on the international stage with Australia as a head coach.

There are countless accounts from former coaching colleagues and players waxing lyrical about Postecoglou’s ability as an orator, with tales of how players would “run through walls for him” so common they have become a trope. It was evident again in front of Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott, who laughed and nodded along as he owned the narrative around the Europa League success at Tottenham Hotspur, and concurrent league collapse, as well as the 39-day disaster at Nottingham Forest, admitting it was a “bad decision” to take the job so soon after being sacked by Spurs.

But perhaps his most considered answer came as the interview was drawing to a close, when Neville asked the 60-year-old what it takes to manage Manchester United.

“My view is that (Manchester United) is the hardest job in world football,” Postecoglou said. “The scrutiny that the club has, and the spotlight it’s constantly under, beholden to the history it has, it’s going to take a unique individual to be able to overcome.”

Postecoglou then lists several characteristics he believes a United manager needs to be successful.

“A person who can handle over 100 press conferences every year.” Shortly before, Postecoglou noted that he had fronted the media over 130 times in his second year as Spurs boss.

“Handling winning 10 games and being torn apart for losing one.” Well, it wasn’t 10 wins in a row, but Postecoglou famously went 10 league games unbeaten as Spurs boss to start his reign, winning eight, before there was a public trial of his methods after the chaotic 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November 2023, where he infamously stood by his “Ange-ball” principles despite going down to nine players.

“Winning and not winning in the right style.” Cue references to Tottenham’s Europa League triumph, where Spurs beat United 1-0 in the final with 26.7 per cent possession and one shot on target.

“History being a constant companion to everything you do.” Like, for example, shedding the ‘Spursy’ tag that seemed to suffocate Tottenham in their 17-year trophyless period.

“So it’s going to have to be someone who’s prepared to accept all that and be strong enough as an individual to say, ‘I will do it, but I’ll do it my way’.”

In other words, Postecoglou indirectly threw his hat in the ring for the United job.

It seems unlikely he will be under consideration if United decide to move on from interim head coach Michael Carrick at the end of the season and appoint a new permanent boss. Appointing a coach directly after failing at Forest does not tally with United’s status as one of the world’s biggest and greatest football clubs.

But whether you view it as audacity or boldness, Postecoglou’s apparent belief that he could be the person to restore United’s glory is why the Premier League is ultimately a better product with him involved.

And if there was any suggestion that he had mellowed after finding success by abandoning his principles in the latter stages of the Europa League in favour of a more pragmatic style, Postecoglou again outlined that his outlook would never change.

“If a club starts talking to me, it’s not like I’m going to walk in and do things differently,” he said, affirming his footballing values. “Do they really want what I have to offer? I’m going to play this way, I’m going to train this way, and I want to win things. I’ve done that my whole career.”

Despite not yet reaching 100 games in charge of a Premier League club, he remains one of English football’s biggest draws. Last week’s Stick to Football episode, recorded shortly after his successor, Thomas Frank, was sacked by Spurs, was the fastest in its history to reach one million views.

For context, the show frequently features British sporting icons, including David Beckham and golf career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy. Still, Postecoglou, who only entered the radar of British football fans after taking charge of Celtic in June 2021, manages to grip audiences better than almost anyone else in the game with his straight-talking brand and non-negotiable footballing approach.

Whether he’s a good fit for an English club is a different question. Asked which challenge he’d like next, he replied, “Something new, something I can make an impact in, somewhere I can win things.” His desire not to return to a previous club takes Tottenham, who will be in the market for a permanent manager in the summer, and Forest out of the picture. And aside from the usual suspects competing for trophies at the top of the table, there is not much out there for a coach who is unabashed in equating achievement and success with trophies.

Perhaps he could be the man to take over from David Moyes at Everton at some point, a club with a sparkling new home and refreshed aspirations. He credited Eddie Howe for his Carabao Cup win last year in the interview, and Postecoglou’s desire to lift silverware and play attractive football might align with the fervent Newcastle United support. Or if Nuno Espirito Santo keeps West Ham United in the Premier League, the idea of rebuilding a big club with recent trophy success in his image would appeal. Ultimately, however, the options in England appear both unlikely and few and far between.

But as a character and a bastion of the beautiful game — lamenting long throws and VAR at every opportunity — Postecoglou continues to charm British football. Whether that translates to another crack at the Premier League whip, however, remains to be seen.

These are not easy times at Tottenham Hotspur.

The real pressure arising from the club’s situation will not just be on interim head coach Igor Tudor, but on the people that run the club and ultimately on the majority-shareholding Lewis family. It is almost six months since the Lewis family sacked Daniel Levy, and in doing so, removed the man who effectively shielded them from scrutiny for so long.

Spurs host Arsenal on Sunday, the first of Tudor’s 12 Premier League games in charge. He only took his first training session on Monday, and must try to revive a team laid low by miserable league form and an unforgiving injury crisis.

This is a new situation for the Lewis family. And if a new head coach cannot turn around results, the fans’ ire will turn again to the owners.

Vivienne Lewis, her brother Charles Lewis and her son-in-law Nick Beucher have often been seen at Spurs games this season. But despite overseeing the club for much of the campaign, no member of the Lewis family has yet taken the Premier League’s test to qualify as a club director.

Who at Tottenham has taken the Premier League’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test?

The Premier League publishes the names of everyone who has taken the owners and directors’ test (OADT), listing them as either ‘Statutory directors’ or ‘Other Directors’ of their respective clubs.

The Tottenham Hotspur entry lists five people as ‘Statutory directors’: Peter Charrington (non-executive chairman), Matthew Collecott (chief operating and finance officer), Eric Hinson (non-executive director), Jonathan Turner (lead independent director) and Vinai Venkatesham (chief executive officer). Between them, those five men make up the board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited, the club’s holding company.

But of the new generation of the Lewis family who have been seen at games this season — Vivienne Lewis, Charles Lewis and Nick Beucher — especially since the dismissal of Daniel Levy as executive chairman last September, none of them is listed.

None of them, sources familiar with the situation told The Athletic, have taken the OADT, nor are they in the process of taking it.

Does this mean that the Lewis family is not involved?

Not quite. Under the club’s new governance model, the Lewis family, as majority shareholders, wants to trust the management to run the club. But the family will naturally be consulted by management — mainly Venkatesham, who has overall responsibility for on- and off-field decisions — on major strategic calls.

It is no secret that some members of the Lewis family have been more present at Tottenham in recent months.

In an interview with the Spurs website last September, four days after Levy’s removal, Venkatesham said that Vivienne Lewis was “a very regular attendee at Tottenham Hotspur games and also frequently joins us on pre-season tours”. And that “going forward, around the club you’ll be seeing a bit more of her brother Charlie and also her son-in-law Nick, and the thing that ties them all together is their passion for Tottenham Hotspur and their ambition for the club moving forward”.

On September 26, the Lewis family members attended a drinks event with staff to get to know them.

During the November international break, in another attempt to build relationships between owners and management, there was a summit in the Bahamas. Venkatesham, Lange and Fabio Paratici, before he left for Fiorentina, flew out for a series of meetings about club strategy going forward. There was even a social event on Joe Lewis’ famous yacht. Paratici had advised replacing Thomas Frank as head coach as early as November, but the hierarchy wanted to keep him at the time.

Frank, dismissed as head coach last week, also spoke publicly about his relationship with members of the Lewis family.

Last month, the Dane revealed in a press conference that he had lunch with Beucher, Venkatesham and Lange at the training ground on January 19, and then again with Beucher and Lange on January 22.

“Nick was here this week,” Frank said on January 22. “That was planned five weeks ago, so that’s normal if he’s over and we have lunch one or two days at the training ground.”

Frank talked up the Lewis family’s commitment to the club. “The most visible ones are Vivienne, Nick, and then Peter Charrington,” he added. “All three are very determined, focused on doing everything they can so that this club has success. They’re very, very committed.

“They want to do everything they can to get us to where we all want to be.”

Why haven’t any Lewises taken the test?

The majority shareholding is owned by “a discretionary trust of which certain members of Mr J(oe) Lewis’s family are potential beneficiaries”, according to the Tottenham website. Charrington, the chairman, has passed the OADT — he represents the Lewis family trust on the board.

The other members of the family not taking the OADT largely comes down to a matter of choice. Ultimately, the Lewis family’s view is that they do not want to be involved in the day-to-day running of the club, and they never have been.

For more than 20 years, they entrusted the daily running to Levy, right up until his dismissal as chairman last September. Since then, they have been more visible, but even with a new governance structure in place, the family still does not want to run the club day to day. This model — trusting the experts to run their businesses — is how the Lewis family looks to conduct its operations in other sectors.

Management on the ground has been entrusted with the daily execution of decisions. CEO Venkatesham, who arrived at Tottenham last summer, before Levy’s dismissal, is the most important person in how the club is run.

This season, he has built up an executive leadership team, with appointments in key roles, effectively replacing many of the functions previously filled by Levy and others who used to run the club. Venkatesham has also effectively become the club’s voice, speaking publicly about the Lewis family’s plans and strategies, something the family has not done.

Venkatesham and the management make recommendations to the board, as was the case on February 11, when Frank was dismissed as head coach.

So, how much does all this matter?

The Lewis family are clearly still involved in regular discussions about what goes on at Spurs, as you would expect. There is nothing untoward about dialogue with the ownership.

But the short answer is that this matters only if the family, rather than the club’s management, were making all the decisions. Sources close to the Lewis family have been clear that it is the management who run the club.

The situation at Spurs, though, is certainly uncommon within the Premier League. If you read through the Premier League’s ‘Public Register of Club Directors’, you will see that for almost every other club, the owners are also directors and generally sit on the club’s board. And if they are listed by the Premier League, it means that they have passed the OADT.

Now, not every one of these situations is the same. Newcastle United, for example, are 85 per cent owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the club chairman, is the governor of PIF, but he is not its owner. Some clubs — such as Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and West Ham United — have a diverse owner group. The Manchester United arrangement, where Sir Jim Ratcliffe effectively runs the club as a minority shareholder, is unique.

But it is nevertheless generally the case that the owners of the other 19 Premier League clubs have taken the OADT, and they often also sit on the club’s board.

What about the new regulator?

The independent football regulator (IFR) had its powers switched on in December, revamping the way clubs’ owners, directors and senior executives are monitored, known as the ODSE regime. This has no connection with the Premier League’s own OADT process, and will run separately and in parallel.

This week, the IFR will write to all of the 116 clubs within its scope, from the Premier League down to the National League. These letters will demand that clubs declare who their key decision-makers are so that the IFR can establish a baseline for regulation. The IFR will not automatically test those people declared by the clubs, as its test will only be used under specific circumstances. These are request for information (RFI) letters, which means that all clubs written to must respond because of the regulator’s powers granted by the Football Governance Act. The clubs will need to provide personnel statements to the IFR when applying for their provisional licences.

From May, the IFR will also have the power to test new owners, or anyone taking up a role that means they fall under the ODSE regime.

After the IFR has all the relevant information back from clubs on personnel, that will eventually be published online, although that may not be until late next year.

If Igor Tudor’s appointment as Tottenham Hotspur head coach tells us anything, it’s that the board are concerned about the prospect of relegation to the Championship.

The 47-year-old Croatian twice rescued Udinese from relegation in Serie A, before plugging holes at Marseille and Juventus — ensuring Champions League football on both occasions. Tudor is a premium alternative to the likes of Tony Pulis and Sam Allardyce, who built reputations domestically on reviving disastrous seasons.

While Opta’s data model indicates Tottenham’s actual chances of relegation are remote, at 3.36 per cent, they are just five points ahead of a resurgent West Ham United in 18th, having failed to win in eight league matches.

With 12 top-flight games remaining, and 36 points available, The Athletic has assessed what going down for the first time since the 1970s would mean for Spurs.

Which players would be likely to depart?

The majority of Tottenham’s first-team squad should have no problem attracting interest from the Premier League and across Europe if the club were to be relegated.

The defence, probably the strongest area of the pitch in the first half of this season under the recently sacked Thomas Frank, would be pretty much picked clean, with a core of experienced internationals in their prime years unlikely to want to spend a season in the Championship. That would mean replacing Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. Kevin Danso and Djed Spence will also likely attract significant interest and could find new homes at top-tier clubs, either permanently or on loan.

Looking at midfield, January signing Conor Gallagher was courted by Aston Villa before deciding on a move to Tottenham, and will surely want to continue playing at the highest level. Rodrigo Bentancur committed his long-term future to the north London club last October and was pivotal under Frank before undergoing hamstring surgery in January, but may seek a move should Spurs go down.

In forward areas, it’s difficult to envision Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons or Richarlison spending a season (or more) in England’s second tier during their peak years.

And who could thrive?

Having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury in the recent 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United, the chances of Wilson Odobert departing in the event of relegation are reduced.

The France Under-21 international enjoyed his best stretch through January and February, thriving as a right-winger in Kudus’ absence. While Odobert may not return to action this calendar year, having a period in the Championship, where he would surely be one of the division’s most talented forwards, may aid his development and build confidence.

It would also offer the opportunity to build a long-term wing partnership with Mikey Moore, who is thriving on loan in Scotland at Rangers. After a difficult initial period under the Glasgow side’s previous manager Russell Martin, Moore has excelled under successor Danny Rohl and should head back to north London in the summer ready to make an impact, particularly if his parent club are in the second tier when he returns.

Archie Gray is perhaps another who may benefit from a season as a bona fide starter in the Championship, as would Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, who Spurs would do well to retain after attracting interest from Chelsea and Villa in January. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky would have the opportunity to develop into a starter, backed up by Brandon Austin.

Relegation would arrive at the perfect time for Luca Williams-Barnett, Jun’ai Byfield and Tynan Thompson to step up from the academy and contribute, while offering senior opportunities to academy graduates Dane Scarlett, Jamie Donley and others who are currently out on loan. Souza, 19, who arrived from Brazilian side Santos in January, could also benefit.

While Tottenham would undoubtedly field lucrative proposals for his signature in the summer, 18-year-old centre-back Luka Vuskovic is among the brightest prospects in the world in his position. The Croatia international is already attracting interest from across Europe thanks to an impressive debut season on loan at Hamburg in the German Bundesliga, but a stint in England’s second tier would help with his long-term adjustment to the Premier League’s intensity once Spurs manage to return to the top flight.

Will the cost of season tickets reduce?

Tottenham have one of the Premier League’s most expensive season tickets, with prices ranging from £856 to £2,147 ($1,159 to $2,907) — not including domestic cup or Champions League matches.

At arguably English football’s most impressive venue, a short train ride from central London, the club can justifiably market themselves as a premium sporting product when competing at the top of the Premier League. However, Spurs have been dreadful at home this season, winning just twice and losing seven times in 13 matches. And while they might expect to win significantly more often at home if they were relegated, supporters would expect a notable deduction in both matchday and season ticket prices. On Wednesday, The Athletic reported that Tottenham had decided to freeze their season ticket prices for next season following consultation with fan groups.

While there is little comparison between Tottenham’s financial power and that of any club previously relegated from the Premier League, Villa, Newcastle United and Fulham come closest. Villa were most recently in the second tier in 2018-19, when they won promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs. That season, their cheapest adult season ticket (purchased during early-bird sales) was £322, with others costing up to £595. The following year, as a top-flight club again, their ticket prices increased to £370-£684.

For new season-ticket purchasers, Newcastle’s category-two season ticket prices dropped around 10 per cent (£520 from £578) as they bounced straight back in 2016-17 as EFL champions, then increased by 15 per cent the following term.

Though Newcastle and Villa may be more similar to Spurs in terms of historical footballing success, Fulham are based in an affluent part of west London, have some of the league’s most expensive season-ticket prices, and were in the Championship more recently.

For their second-tier 2021-22 season, the cheapest season ticket at Craven Cottage was £399, with the most expensive at £809. There were eight price categories in total, with a mean cost of £554. After winning promotion, the cheapest season ticket for new purchasers was £460, with the most expensive at £1,005 — a mean cost of £666.25, a 20.3 per cent increase.

In reference to the threat of relegation and the knock-on financial effects, a Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust spokesperson said: “While we know the spectre of relegation is real and we are confident that the club are acutely aware of its catastrophic implications, we believe that their 100 per cent focus is, rightly, on improving performances and results. In short, avoiding relegation at all costs.

“The impact on supporters, damage to reputation, financial sustainability and practical considerations like ticket pricing, are matters for another day. But whether or not the club is successful and retains its Premier League status, salutary lessons need to be learned throughout the club and wise investment made to ensure we are never in this position again.”

How far could going down set Spurs back financially?

There is no precedent for a club of Tottenham’s size and financial strength suffering relegation to the Championship, so it’s difficult to say.

They are the ninth-wealthiest team in the world game, according to Deloitte, with revenue of €672.6million in 2024-25 — around €88m more than the next-richest, London rivals Chelsea. After reaching the upcoming round of 16 in the Champions League despite their domestic struggles, that number is in line to increase this season. No club in the 34-year Premier League era have recorded more than £200million in single-season revenue and gone down.

While their current wage bill would dwarf any in Championship history, Tottenham’s relative frugality in terms of salary spending means they are in a comparatively better position than some of their competition in the event of relegation. And as covered above, many of the highest earners would surely depart, whether on loan or for large transfer fees — though Spurs’ weak bargaining position could mean such players leave for reduced fees or require the club to pay a wage contribution. It is not yet clear whether Tottenham have inserted relegation clauses into first-team contracts.

And their stadium, which is set to host Tyson Fury’s return to boxing in April and a Bad Bunny concert in June, as well as the regular pair of NFL games in the autumn, is a huge money-spinner. Relegation would have a limited impact on such operations outside football.

Though dropping to the Championship may not pose an existential threat to the north London club, television, matchday and sponsorship revenues will decline considerably.

The Premier League’s UK rights deal is worth £6.7billion for the years 2025-29, with U.S. rights holder NBC paying £2bn for rights through 2028. The EFL’s deal with Sky Sports, in comparison, is worth £935m over five years. Needless to say, Tottenham would need to bounce back from relegation at the first time of asking to minimise the long-term harm.

Will sponsorship opportunities be affected?

Tottenham’s current deal with global principal partner and front-of-shirt sponsor AIA expires at the end of the 2026-27 season.

Industry sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, say they would not be surprised if the club were thinking of looking for alternatives to the Hong Kong-based insurance company, which will become the club’s training kit partner from July 2027 until 2032. With a reduced global audience in the Championship, Spurs would likely renegotiate deals with other existing partners or secure new short-term sponsorships.

“There may not be a relegation clause in their front-of-shirt contract with AIA,” says Mike Jackson, chief executive of Elite Sports Marketing, a sponsorship agency which works with several Premier League and Championship clubs.

“(Premier League strugglers) Burnley, or even Coventry City (who are currently top of the Championship), will have relegation and promotion clauses, which give first option to the company to continue the sponsorship at up to seven or eight times what they’re paying in the Championship, but AIA may not have that clause, because it would never have been a consideration that Tottenham would get relegated.

“Conversations (with AIA) are probably happening as we speak. Tottenham will understand that AIA will not pay a Premier League rate (the contract is reported to be worth £40million per year) for a Championship club. They will not get the billions of eyeballs in the Championship that they would in the Premier League, and the reputational harm of not renegotiating the deal is not worth it in the long term. Having assessed the Championship market, it could be around the £4million to £5m range.”

In the event of relegation, Spurs may continue with AIA on revised terms, but if an agreement cannot be reached, they could explore the market for a one-year front-of-shirt deal. A short-term arrangement like that would allow them to find a more lucrative long-term alternative should they return to the Premier League within a year.

“I expect AIA to stick with them next year, but if they don’t, they will be fine because of the size of the club in the Championship,” says Jackson. “If you look at it from a brand’s point of view, they will know success is guaranteed practically every week. So it’s nothing but good news, records being broken, etc. So it’s good for any brand that joins them.”

How will it affect the club’s international visibility?

For international fans, the EFL’s iFollow subscription service means that watching Tottenham on a game-to-game basis can largely remain the same. This season, the service is priced at £180 for all 46 of a Championship side’s league games.

British supporters would also have much more Tottenham on their television sets should they go down, with every match, except the Saturday 3pm kick-offs, available on Sky Sports.

However, not being involved in the world’s biggest sporting league will have detrimental effects on retaining followers around the world and attracting new ones. There would be no marquee matches against traditional rivals Arsenal or Chelsea, never mind the increase in interest when playing against Liverpool and Manchester United, two of world sport’s titans.

And following a World Cup being held in North America this summer, Tottenham’s absence from the 2026-27 Premier League will take them out of the equation for many new fans of the sport in the United States and Canada looking for an English club to follow.