This is the moment that “international break” transitioned to “North London Derby” week. We went from a void of discussion topics to “Omg! Did he really just say that? Expect a major fallout and repercussions from this.” Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has told rival club Tottenham Hotspur that they need to finally win a trophy in order to claim and convey progress.
With the two teams clashing Saturday afternoon at the Emirates, this is the very definition of “talking trash,” “throwing shade,” “shots fired” and “bulletin board material. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs since Spurs finished ahead of the Gunners in the Premier League last season, the first time that they have done so in 21 years.
Asked if the power has shifted from Arsenal to Tottenham in the NLD, Petr Cech responded:
“No I don’t think so. There is always one odd year where things can change, but the most important thing for us is competing against the other teams for the Premier League title and for the glory. We are not competing against Tottenham Hotspur.”
He went on to further tell Sky Sports. “Two years ago when we finished above them we were disappointed because we didn’t win the title. Our target is to win the title and be successful during the season, not necessarily looking at what Tottenham are doing.”
“They’ve been there in the last few years so now I think they have to make sure they win something to show the progression. Success is ultimately winning trophies. We were under pressure the last couple of years, people talking about winning trophies, obviously we are disappointed not to have won the title but we won FA Cups. Although the season was not always what we wanted, we always had a trophy at the end of it.”
Savage.
Brutal.
However, he definitely makes a very solid point. Tottenham has not won a trophy since 2008 (the League Cup) and although they were the last team standing between the last two league champions and their eventual glory, it’s still not a trophy.
You do have to close the deal at some point and perhaps this is the year they do so? Their last UEFA Champions League campaign prior to this season was very uninspiring and disappointing, but they’ve made some major noise this year. Spurs got past both Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid to reach the knockout round, and it has White Hart Lane holding high hopes.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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