Tottenham beat Arsenal 3-0 three years ago – how both teams have changed since then

As it turned out, Tottenham could not keep Conte happy.

He left by mutual consent in March 2023 after calling his players “selfish” and criticising the culture of the club.

They finished eighth, and lost in the Champions League last 16 to Milan.

There were big changes the following summer as in came Celtic manager Postecoglou, and out went the club’s all-time top scorer Kane to Bayern Munich.

“This is only Ange’s second season, and before that you had Conte, and Mourinho before that,” said ex-England and Liverpool midfielder Murphy.

“So since the end of 2019 Spurs have had three managers while Arsenal have had this stability under Arteta and they have given their manager time to build something.”

It all started so well under Postecoglou, with Spurs top of the table and unbeaten after 10 games going into November.

But a 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, with Spurs having two defenders sent off, sent them on a run of losing 12 of 28 games – and they missed out on a Champions League place by finishing fifth.

Domestically, Tottenham have had a wretched season this time around. They sit 17th and are facing their lowest finish since they were in the second tier in 1977–78.

Yet it could end up being their best season in terms of trophies since 2008, after setting up a Europa League final with Manchester United.

“This season in isolation has been really poor, but they also missed out on the Champions League last season too,” said Murphy, who played for Spurs from 2006 to 2007.

“They would have been really hopeful that they would have been as competitive again this time – fifth again this year would have got them in, but instead they have fallen off a cliff.”

Postecoglou has repeatedly pointed to injuries, but there has not been an upswing in results since several of them returned.

In the Carabao Cup they reached the semi-final, beating Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg before meekly losing the second leg 4-0 at Anfield.

Murphy added: “I don’t think it [their current situation] is a catastrophe for Spurs because they have got some brilliant young players and they have still got some good experienced players.

“Their league form this season and their position is so far short of what that squad should produce and that is ultimately down to the manager.

“I think this is quite an anomaly what has happened to them this season, with the injuries they have had and their lack of confidence at times.

“What I think Spurs need to find is a balance between where they have been under Ange, and where they were in that season they finished fourth under Conte.”

Spurs fan Howell said: “Looking back, the writing has been on the wall since we didn’t back Mauricio Pochettino in terms of signing and going after the players he wanted.

“That has been the case ever since, and each manager has inherited a squad that slowly but surely lost their identity along the way and there was always a ‘big rebuild’ needed.”