The night after a big derby win that could be season defining is always a fun one. Sore heads might be abundant among the Tottenham support today, but so are smiles. Antonio Conte has given fans their club back, and with that return has come a swagger often associated with other clubs. Conte has given Spurs a backbone, a confidence, and a zeal that simply was not present in previous squads. However, with so much at stake on Thursday night, a scrappy 1-0 win would have been taken with both hands.
To smash Arsenal 3-0 is always a good feeling – to beat them so comprehensively, and to shift the momentum in the Champions League race, is incredible. A brace from Harry Kane and a quick game-ender from Son in the second half seen the game turn into a formality before the 50th minute. However, it was a game that will live long in the memory for Spurs fans for many reasons.
One reason is that it literally made modern club history. As Mikel Arteta and his team trudged off the pitch utterly defeated, Spurs fans celebrated in style. it was a night to remember forever. The gravity of the evening, though, did not become apparent until the post-match celebrations began.
Kane became the leading scorer in the Premier League against Arsenal, having scored 13 goals against them in Spurs colours. If that does not cement his legend as a modern Spurs hero, then the fact this became a record win for the club was also a big factor.
Spurs making history at just the right time
As fans began to calm down after the demonstrative destruction of Arsenal, fans began to talk about when they last seen such a win in the North London derby. And the truth was quite simple: it had been decades since the result had bene so one-sided in the favour of those wearing white.
This was the single largest winning margin for Spurs in a league game against Arsenal since that 5-0 win in 1983. This was also the first North London derby in front of a full capacity Tottenham Hotspur stadium. The team made sure that history was written for the right reasons. Breaking a record that had stood for as long as 39 years for a winning margin is impressive stuff.
For Conte, it is yet another sign that his project is going forward at the perfect pace. Regular results in the big games – he has gotten a rare draw at Anfield, and win against Manchester City – have become a starting point for Conte to build upon. It gives the team confidence and lifts spirits any time they enter the pitch now.
Such a result adds another layer of shine to what has been a wonderful 2022 so far for Spurs. The only hope is that with two games to go they can win both and see Arsenal slip-up in one of their banana skin final fixtures. If they can make the top four, then this historical win becomes even more important in the modern history of Tottenham.
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