Published: 3 January, 2014

ARSENAL
WITH Richard Osley and that smug smile that usually graces the bottom left-hand corner of this page still away, it’s been left to me and my more cheeky chappy grin to kick-start the new year for my fellow Gooners.

I could do that by highlighting the fact the Arsenal are playing so well that Nicklas Bendtner is scoring winners, even if he did have to limp off in shock just seconds later.

Or I could highlight the fact that for all the “crises” talk that often surrounds the club Arsenal were officially the best team in 2013 having amassed a whopping 82 points.

That’s five more than billionaire big-spenders Chelsea and Man City, six more than champions by default Man United and 12 points more than Spurs.

Or I could highlight the fact that Arsenal have soaked up defeats in Manchester, surged through the often tricky months of November and December and are confidently sitting on top of the Premier League pile.

The real fact of the matter, however, is that the hard work starts now.

Arsene Wenger has to shake off his contempt for the January transfer market and find a special player or two to make 2014 the year where the final day excitement of finishing fourth is saved for the Man United fans.

After beating United 2-1 on their own turf on Wednesday maybe Spurs’ fans are starting to believe that they will be the ones to break back into the top four?

Stand-in manager Tim Sherwood (yes,I know he’s signed a contract but at White Hart Lane that means nothing!) certainly thinks it’s possible with the help of the “unstoppable” Adebayor.

That is, of course, providing nobody tells the former Arsenal striker when the transfer window closes…
STEVE BARNETT

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
THERE was a time (about two weeks ago actually) when I would have given anything to hear that some wonk with a clipboard had decided that Spurs could take a sabbatical from the current Premier League season.

Someone to say that I could have a break from watching my own team, that my club could spend a leisurely few months finding the right manager, that the players could spend their days paint-balling, singing silly songs, hugging, or whatever it took to make them into a team.

How silly do I feel now?

Now that we’ve embarrassed Man United at their place and are playing with such abandon that the pundits are talking us up as top four contenders again?

Well, I guess it was silly to think that Tottenham could never bring me joy again this season.

Silly to think we needed to scour the world for a manager when we had one in the making under our noses.

Even sillier to think the team needed anything but the freedom to play and experience of winning to gel.

But football can make you silly. Just ask anyone who has torn their season ticket up in front of a beleaguered manager’s nose.

Or the fans who’ve stormed out of their home grounds after a terrible performance and ranted angrily into television cameras.

Yes, football can leave you frustrated, embarrassed, disappointed. Yet it can just as easily make you feel elated, excited, expectant – and that's the way we all felt on New Year’s Day. I’ve no idea how long it will last but it really would be silly not to enjoy it while we can.
CATHERINE ETOE