Gary Neville claimed that Tottenham’s players did not believe in the plan of manager Nuno Espirito Santo during their first-half thrashing against Arsenal. Spurs went in at the break 3-0 down to a Gunners side who have struggled for form this season, coming at the worst possible time for the new boss who came into the game off the back of two resounding Premier League defeats.
It did not take long for youngster Emile Smith-Rowe to open the scoring, latching onto a pullback from Bukayo Saka.
Smith-Rowe then turned provider to set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who finished off a superb counter-attacking move to double the lead.
The pain was compounded just minutes later when Saka got on the scoresheet himself, leaving Spurs players with heads in hands.
By the break, it was already 3-0, an all too familiar scoreline after Crystal Palace and Chelsea beat Tottenham by the same margin in recent weeks.
The season has seen a swift turnaround in fortunes for Nuno, who was flying high as he oversaw his side battle to three consecutive 1-0 victories to begin the campaign.
First of which was a home triumph over defending Premier League champions Manchester City, leading many to believe that Spurs’ prospects were looking up with Nuno in charge.
However, since edging out Watford 1-0 at the end of August, things have gone from bad to worse for the Portuguese manager.
Firstly, they felt the wrath of Odsonne Edouard as Palace romped to victory at Selhurst Park, before Chelsea completely outclassed them on their own stomping ground the following weekend.
A result was therefore needed against their north London rivals, but their first-half showing was absolutely abysmal.
Nuno was always going to need to operate under increased pressure this campaign, given his appointment came after a number of failed manager pursuits this summer.
The likes of Antonio Conte and Gennaro Gattuso both slipped through the net before Spurs turned to Nuno, and although he silenced the critics during his first three games of the campaign, things have turned sour since then.
The tide appears to be turning at Tottenham, and not in a good way. Nuno now has a job on his hands to turn his side’s fortunes around.
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