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| Alessia Russo and Drew Spance in the Spurs vs Arenal game in WSL |
The managers' post-match reaction revealed all you need to know about the Spurs vs Arsenal WSL result. Tottenham head coach Martin Ho came bounding towards the shivering hack pack, shaking hands with everyone. Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Renee Slegers took a long time to come over and stood with arms crossed as she answered questions.
There is no doubt that this is a far better result for the hosts than the visitors. Never mind the need to get something after a terrible result at London City Lionesses last week, Spurs had to prove they were not returning to the bad old days of always losing to the "big four".
This wasn't a pretty Spurs performance. Daphne van Domselaar wasn't forced to make lots of big saves to keep Arsenal in it. The Gunners had 13 shots in total, four on target, compared to just four total shots by Ho's team.
It was a tough, gritty performance though. This was personified by Drew Spence, who battled throughout and was rightly named Player of the Match. "Drew maybe goes under the radar a little bit because maybe she's not as flashy with the ball," said Ho of the Jamaica international. "But technically, tactically... her wining mentality is phenomenal. She sets a real tone for us."
The manager also explained that Spence is amongst the senior players that can be used for.. game management. "I felt like we had to be a little bit more smarter and game smart and that's just game craft. That's with a little bit of experience with some players and you maybe see like Drew, Beth, Martha, they kind of have that in terms of how to kill the game, how to slow it down, when to kind of work the ball down the sides," he said.
As for Slegers, she acknowledged that "Tottenham are much stronger this year than last year." Furthermore, she said that the home side "have a more aggressive pressing structure, they can do it physically and are very brave on the ball when they build.' It was noticeable that stars like Alessia Russo, whilst always dangerous, were largely kept quiet during the game. Stina Blackstenius was the standout Gunner.
Spurs vs Arsenal WSL Vibes
Of course, the point is a good result for Tottenham Hotspur Women. It was hard-fought and deserved. However, there are still plenty of areas in which they team can improve. Most noticeably, the crossing is not good enough. Jess Naz and Matilda Vinberg are the main culprits of this. (We discussed it on Hometown Glory after the game.) Also, Olivia Holdt is really, really good.
While the end result was fine, I confess I still can't quite get my head around the starting 11 or, indeed, the substitutions. Tinka Tandberg once again started, with Bethany England on the bench. Tandberg is excellent and battled hard up front, but I'm confused about any Spurs starting 11 that doesn't have Bethany England in it. The skipper did not come on until the 64th minute.
Martha Thomas came on too. The Scotland forward was busy but wasted what was perhaps Tottenham's best chance. Cutting in from the right-hand channel, she blazed her shot over instead of hitting the target or cutting it back to England, It was extra time and a bit more calmness and quality could have seen Spurs take all three points.
As the minutes ticked by, it became torturous. The home fans realised they were getting closer to a really meaningful point. The away fans were getting ever more frustrated. (Indeed, so were the players. Katie McCabe, on a booking, had to be removed at half time.) At the final whist, it felt like Spurs had won.
And that's why not losing again was so important. The fans and players could head into the League Cup game and then international break with some positivity. Never has there been a more joyous 0-0 home draw.
Martin Ho Reacts
Here is what Martin Ho said to journalists following the Spurs 0 - 0 Arsenal match on Sunday, 16th November 2025.
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