Tottenham board already have four reasons to sack Nuno Espirito Santo after Arsenal defeat

In pictures: Arsenal v Tottenham

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What a difference a month in football makes. Nuno Espirito Santo was being toasted at the end of August but, four weeks on, and some Tottenham fans are already calling on him to be sacked. Especially after Sunday’s chastening 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Tottenham were outclassed, outpaced and outscored by Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby.

Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka all struck in the first half to give Mikel Arteta all three crucial points.

And, in the aftermath, Tottenham fans have fumed.

Many are already unhappy with Nuno, whose side are already slumping just mere weeks into the new campaign.

So Express Sport will now take a look at four legitimate reasons the Tottenham board have to relieve the Portuguese of his duties, despite the season still being in it’s early stages.

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Defensive style

Tottenham fans see the ‘Tottenham way’ as being attacking, enterprising football.

That’s why they loved Mauricio Pochettino so much, and wanted the Argentine to replace Jose Mourinho when there was talk back in the summer.

But, under Nuno, they’ve regressed into a turgid, defensive outfit.

That was the case under Mourinho but at least he got some results. At this rate, Spurs would be lucky to achieve the seventh-placed finish he did in 2020.

Boring only works when you win. And Tottenham aren’t winning, or singing, at the current moment in time.

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Kane and Son misfiring

When a new manager takes charge, their first job is to ensure the club’s star men stay fully firing.

And with Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, that hasn’t happened.

Kane’s plight has been alarming. He looks disinterested after missing out on a move to Manchester City, scoring just once.

And Son’s struggles are equally unnerving, with the South Korea international a shadow of his former self.

Defensive football doesn’t suit Tottenham’s prized assets. So, for that reason alone, Spurs’ board can be forgiven for thinking things over.

Humiliating defeats

When David Moyes took charge of Manchester United, it soon became apparent things wouldn’t work out.

The main reason for that was humiliating defeats against fierce rivals, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham and Chelsea beating them before the end of January 2014.

Tottenham now appear to be suffering similarly nightmarish results.

Their home 3-0 loss to Chelsea exposed the issues in the squad.

And so too did the 3-1 drubbing to Arsenal, meaning Nuno now faces a big fight to turn things around.

Others are available

One reason Tottenham should perhaps consider sacking Nuno is because of the calibre of managers who are currently available.

Take Antonio Conte, for example.

Spurs tried to hire the Italian in the summer, only to end up missing out. Renewing that interest, certainly, would be understandable.

And then there’s Zinedine Zidane, too.

Zidane won the lot across two spells at Real Madrid, with 2020’s La Liga triumph a particularly fine achievement given the lack of Cristiano Ronaldo at his disposal.

Conte and Zidane both have better CVs than Nuno, despite the Portuguese being a fine manager.

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