Former defender Bacary Sagna has dismissed ’s chances of winning the title despite their eye-catching start to the new season.
Led by , a new-look Spurs team have collected 20 points from the first eight games of the campaign playing a brand of football more in keeping with the club’s traditions.
New signings Mick van de Ven, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario have all made instant impacts, while Postecoglou has rejuvenated the likes of Son Heung-min who looked discontented under the previous regime.
With victories against Liverpool and Manchester United, allied to an impressive draw at Arsenal, Tottenham have shown they are a match for the biggest teams in the division but Sagna doubts they are capable of lasting the pace.
‘The title race will be between Arsenal and Manchester City, Spurs will collapse, as usual,’ Sagna told . ‘And that’s not just me speaking as an Arsenal fan. I don’t see them being consistent enough all season. Â
‘Apart from Heung-Min Son, I don’t see anyone in that team that can lead the team or play a vital role in Spurs’ title race. I have respect for the players, and they play good football under a good coach, but the season is very long, and I don’t see them competing on a long-term basis.
‘They started well, and they can qualify for the Champions League, but I don’t see them competing for the title.’
On Arsenal’s hopes, meanwhile, Sagna, a former teammate of Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, added: ‘Arsenal can be a contender to win the league after defeating Manchester City, who have already lost twice this season. It was a decisive game where they lost points directly to an opponent.Â
‘Arsenal showed that they’ve learned their lesson from recent years as they were very patient, composed and focused and the whole team defended very well. Offensively, they just waited for the right time, and they knew that they’d have a chance at the end of the game to win it and that’s what they did perfectly.Â
‘They were patient enough to defend for 75 minutes and all the substitutions that Mikel Arteta made combined for their goal. Takehiro Tomiyasu headed it down for Kai Havertz who laid it back to Martinelli for the goal – it was the perfect execution of Arteta’s game plan. Â
‘Both coaches know each other very well and how their teams move on the pitch, where they close space and how they play out from the back. When you have two coaches who have the same philosophy, it always provides this type of game. It wasn’t a particularly good game and the team that made half a mistake ended up losing.’
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