Tottenham Hotspur go into October’s international break top of the Premier League table following Saturday afternoon’s 1-0 win over Luton Town. Micky van de Ven’s first goal for the club early in the second half meant Spurs have now won six of their opening eight games of the season.
“We’ve played some good football and we’ve had all sort of different challenges thrown at us,” Ange Postecoglou said. “We’ve been behind in games away from home, we’ve had to score last minute winners. It’s not like it’s been smooth sailing. We’ve had to work awfully hard to be in the position we are and I guess from my perspective it’s great that they’re getting rewarded with results and that can only help us grow as a team.
“But it’s not like they’re sitting in there thinking we’ve achieved anything. We haven’t achieved anything, all we’ve done is lay some really good foundations. Our goals and ambitions lay in improvement. Can we play better, can we become a better team and if we do that then we’ll see where that takes us.”
On Sunday, Spurs’ position as league leaders was under threat with Manchester City and Arsenal facing-off at the Emirates Stadium. Victory for Pep Guardiola’s men would have seen them resume their position at the top, but the Gunners showed their class to earn their first victory over the Citizens since 2015.
Gabriel Martinelli’s 86th minute goal on his return from injury was the difference in north London, moving Mikel Arteta’s side level on points with Spurs on 20. However, Tottenham will retain their spot at the top of the Premier League courtesy of the amount of goals scored.
Both teams are level on points and goal difference (+10), meaning the next statistic in the order is goals scored. Postecoglou’s men have netted 18 in eight games, two more than the Gunners with 16.
It’s the first time the club has topped the Premier League table since December 2020. Focus will now go on preparing for the visit of Fulham in over two weeks’ time.
