Gabriele MarcottiFeb 23, 2026, 07:35 AM ETCloseGabriele Marcotti is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @Marcotti.Follow on XMultiple Authors
play2:25Marcotti: Tottenham would be idiotic to wait for PochettinoGab & Juls discuss the potential of Mauricio Pochettino joining Tottenham after the World Cup.
play1:18Klinsmann sees hope for Tudor’s Spurs despite derby defeatJurgen Klinsmann looks at what the future holds for Igor Tudor’s Tottenham, as they try to compete in the Champions League and stay in the Premier League.
play2:02Are Man City more confident in title charge after win vs. NewcastleDon Hutchison and Steve Nicol discuss Man City’s Premier League title aspirations after their win over Newcastle.
play1:51Should Arbeloa’s substitutions be blamed for Real Madrid’s loss vs. Osasuna?Alejandro Moreno believes Alvaro Arbeloa was wrong to substitute Federico Valverde against Osasuna.
play0:59Moreno: Fermin Lopez has Barcelona’s missing ‘edge’Ale Moreno praises Fermin Lopez’s substitute performance during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Levante in LaLiga.
play1:54Musiala ‘very happy’ to be back starting for Bayern after injuryJamal Musiala speaks after starting in Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
play1:42Could Chelsea miss out on a Champions League spot next season?ESPN FC’s Steve Nicol joins Mark Donaldson to discuss whether Chelsea may miss out on a Champions League spot after their 1-1 draw with Burnley.
play1:29Hutchison: Forest win won’t build Liverpool’s Champions League confidenceDon Hutchison assesses Liverpool’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League in the race against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Are Arsenal still favourites to win the Premier League? (1:48)Gab & Juls discuss the Premier League title race between Arsenal and Manchester City. (1:48)
Marcotti: Tottenham would be idiotic to wait for PochettinoGab & Juls discuss the potential of Mauricio Pochettino joining Tottenham after the World Cup.
Klinsmann sees hope for Tudor’s Spurs despite derby defeatJurgen Klinsmann looks at what the future holds for Igor Tudor’s Tottenham, as they try to compete in the Champions League and stay in the Premier League.
Jurgen Klinsmann looks at what the future holds for Igor Tudor’s Tottenham, as they try to compete in the Champions League and stay in the Premier League.
Are Man City more confident in title charge after win vs. NewcastleDon Hutchison and Steve Nicol discuss Man City’s Premier League title aspirations after their win over Newcastle.
Don Hutchison and Steve Nicol discuss Man City’s Premier League title aspirations after their win over Newcastle.
Should Arbeloa’s substitutions be blamed for Real Madrid’s loss vs. Osasuna?Alejandro Moreno believes Alvaro Arbeloa was wrong to substitute Federico Valverde against Osasuna.
Moreno: Fermin Lopez has Barcelona’s missing ‘edge’Ale Moreno praises Fermin Lopez’s substitute performance during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Levante in LaLiga.
Ale Moreno praises Fermin Lopez’s substitute performance during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Levante in LaLiga.
Musiala ‘very happy’ to be back starting for Bayern after injuryJamal Musiala speaks after starting in Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
Could Chelsea miss out on a Champions League spot next season?ESPN FC’s Steve Nicol joins Mark Donaldson to discuss whether Chelsea may miss out on a Champions League spot after their 1-1 draw with Burnley.
ESPN FC’s Steve Nicol joins Mark Donaldson to discuss whether Chelsea may miss out on a Champions League spot after their 1-1 draw with Burnley.
Hutchison: Forest win won’t build Liverpool’s Champions League confidenceDon Hutchison assesses Liverpool’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League in the race against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Don Hutchison assesses Liverpool’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League in the race against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Tried-and-tested formula sees Arsenal stomp Spurs and keep their noses ahead in title race
There’s no pattern to Man City … but maybe that’s the point?
Real Madrid off the rails (again) as Alvaro Arbeloa crashes to his third defeat
Another weekend of action from Europe’s top leagues is in the books, and as always, we have plenty to break down! So let’s begin with the big game of the Premier League weekend, Sunday’s north London derby, where Arsenal stuck to a winning formula in thumping their rivals Tottenham 4-1 to remain in charge (for now, anyway) of the title race.
In LaLiga, Real Madrid slipped back behind Barcelona in the title race after a shocking, frustrating and familiar defeat — this time 2-1 at Osasuna — as manager Alvaro Arbeloa continues to struggle with figuring out the right tactics and personnel. (On the Barcelona side of things, they picked up an easy win over Levante, though it was marked by Lamine Yamal’s outburst not long before fulltime.)
When you hit a road bump — and four points dropped against Brentford and Wolves in 10 days is just that — you can either change what you’re doing, or do the very same things, but doing them better. It’s a truism, but not for that reason any less applicable to Arsenal (or to life).
Mikel Arteta went into Sunday’s North London Derby knowing that Manchester City had pulled to within two points and that the head-to-head clash on April 18 was on their turf. To stay in front, to avoid turning that match into a potential de facto “must win” he had to get all three points against Spurs.
Marcotti: Tottenham would be idiotic to wait for Pochettino
Gab & Juls discuss the potential of Mauricio Pochettino joining Tottenham after the World Cup.
Changing the plan after dropping points and winning shows that your coach and your team that you’re flexible and creative, which is good for confidence. Sticking to the same plan and winning after dropping points builds confidence, and shows your manager was right to begin with.
Could things have gone differently? At a stretch, maybe. Gabriel making a meal of Randal Kolo Muani’s push that led to the disallowed Spurs goal (that would have made it 2-2) was dicey. For me, two hands on the back is always a foul. Then again, we’ve seen it called and not called in the Premier League this season, and it could have easily gone the other way.
Similarly, David Raya’s scramble to keep out Richarlison’s finish isn’t the sort of thing you want to rely on, because it’s so improbable. Then again, if you want to bring up the unusual and unplanned, you can throw in Declan Rice’s mistake on the first goal which was a one-off. (Correction: a two-off, assuming that’s even a word, because he also screwed up against Sunderland and the fact that we even remember it tells you how rare it is.)
Klinsmann sees hope for Tudor’s Spurs despite derby defeat
Pep Guardiola hit the managerial scene for his “3 Ps” — possession, passing and pressing — at Barcelona. To his credit, he has evolved and tweaked his approach over the years, from Bayern Munich to at least two different iterations at Manchester City. This season, we’re reaching the point where his team’s approach seems to change from game to game.
Directness, rather than control — there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that it’s different from what we’re used to and, with hindsight, it may have made the game that little bit more difficult for City.
Are Man City more confident in title charge after win vs. Newcastle
No matter: they won 2-1, kept the pressure on Arsenal and discovered that yes, they can win this way too. Maybe not as smoothly — Newcastle battled gamely and had chances to equalize (Gianluigi Donnarumma had to pull off his usual miracle off, this time to deny Harvey Barnes) — but they can get it over the line, nonetheless.
What XI would Guardiola put out if the UEFA Champions League final were tomorrow? I have no idea, other than the fact that, I imagine, Donnarumma, Haaland, Rodri and, when fit, Josko Gvardiol would start. But that’s a feature, not a bug of Pep’s City this season.
Should Arbeloa’s substitutions be blamed for Real Madrid’s loss vs. Osasuna?
Alejandro Moreno believes Alvaro Arbeloa was wrong to substitute Federico Valverde against Osasuna.
Three defeats but seven wins, he might argue. Sure, but it was the manner of what happened Saturday at El Sadar that is cause for concern.
Osasuna away are a tough out: Alessio Lisci’s team like to park the bus and force you to beak them down. The problem is that to break down opponents as a team, you need patterns of play, kinda like what Xabi Alonso was trying to do — otherwise you’re left with relying on individuals. And sure, sometimes the individuals do individually brilliant things (witness Vinicius Junior’s goal against Benfica), but sometimes they don’t, and that’s when you’re in trouble.
Arbeloa’s set-up of late has basically been a four-man midfield with three holding players plus Arda Guler (who, by the way, is still 20 and in his first campaign as a regular) shielding the back four. The game plan consists of denying space, winning the ball and waiting for Vini and Kylian Mbappe to do something up front. I’m exaggerating a little, but really, only a little.
Real Madrid may have been a bit unlucky with Osasuna’s penalty — then again, stepping on a foot is always a foul these days — but they also needed an absurdly special Thibaut Courtois save from Ante Budimir before that. As for Osasuna’s winner — from giving the ball away cheaply, to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s slow-motion recovery, to Raul Asencio getting duped as if Raul Garcia was vintage Neymar — the less said, the better.
Moreno: Fermin Lopez has Barcelona’s missing ‘edge’
But then Kane gave up an avoidable penalty, shortly thereafter Joshua Kimmich played a blind pass across his own area and before you knew it, the score was 3-2. Then Mario Gotze, of all people, nearly made it 3-3 in injury time. Kane and Kimmich aren’t prone to such craven errors and when your leaders do stuff like that, it’s not alarm bells necessarily, but it’s at least a warning light. They can’t let opponents back into games like this. It has happened too many times for a team this good.