Tottenham show further progress with WSL draw against Arsenal

Against Arsenal, Tottenham showed their progress both in and out of possession.

They were winning duels in midfield, Cathinka Tandberg was holding up the ball in attack and summer signing Toko Koga was once again a rock in defence.

They showed bravery when they won the ball back, not afraid to take on Arsenal’s Champions League winners and were savvy in seeing the game out later on.

Their rivals are in a slump – they have not won any of their past three games in all competitions – but Spurs were still underdogs and played as if they weren’t.

“Any game we go into now we’ve got to go and be competitive. I don’t want us to be a team that sits off the top three teams,” stressed Ho.

“I’m enjoying it for now. At times you have to give yourself a reality check and see just how far you’ve come. But you’ve got to stay on the tracks.

“There’s a lot of expectation on Spurs because we know last year we were not where we wanted to be.”

The disappointment of last season, where Spurs finished second-bottom with 20 points, is still fresh in people’s minds.

They already have 16 points this campaign after just nine matches and sit a point off Manchester United in the Champions League qualification spots – but Tottenham are cautious of getting carried away.

Recruitment in January will be important, Ho admits, as they look to add squad depth and continue progressing.

They hope by picking up more results like this one against Arsenal, they can also grow the fanbase and attract more followers.

“We want to add different profiles and add to parts where we’re missing at the moment,” said Ho.

“If we want to be a top team and compete in all the competitions we’ve got to add squad depth.

“If we want more fans to come and watch our games then we have to put in more performances like this.

“The fans aren’t asking for perfection, they’re just asking for an energy, a work rate a desire, – when you do that you’ll bring more fans to the ground more often.”