Tottenham Four Points from the Red Zone, More Terrifying than the Gunners Without a Trophy?

The 2025 season will be a difficult period for Tottenham Hotspur. The north London club are now just four points from the Premier League relegation zone with 11 games remaining, and have yet to achieve a single league win throughout 2026. In nine games this year, Spurs have only collected four points and are slumped at the bottom of the performance table.

This situation feels even more bitter because at the same time their city rivals, Arsenal, are leading the Premier League standings and are still competing in all competitions. The contrast sparked debate on one sharp question: if Spurs are relegated and Arsenal fail to win any silverware, whose season will be more embarrassing?

Tottenham’s Real Threat of Relegation

Tottenham ended last season in 17th place, despite lifting the Europa League trophy which ended a 17-year title drought. After that, management fired Ange Postecoglou. His replacement, Thomas Frank, only lasted a few months before Igor Tudor was appointed as emergency coach to save the club from the threat of being dropped from the top flight.

Last season’s Europa League trophy ended the long wait. However, in the 17 years without a previous title, Spurs have also lost two League Cup finals, one Champions League final and finished second in the Premier League. This means that this club was once at the top, but failed to complete the momentum into real success.

Now, with the threat of the Championship looming, the debate about embarrassment has become relevant. Majestic in the Inside Spurs discussion on talkSPORT called relegation the most embarrassing scenario. But Sonny Snelling actually saw the other side.

According to him, if Arsenal, who are currently top of the Champions League and Premier League, have reached the Carabao Cup final, and are still competing in the FA Cup, and in the end do not win a single trophy, the failure will feel even more painful.

He argued that Spurs’ decline had long been visible since Mauricio Pochettino left. The departures of Harry Kane and Heung Min Son are also said to be part of a process that makes this decline not entirely surprising.

Great Standards and Expectations

The debate also touches on standards of success. Majestic believes that Arsenal has been forming a narrative that without a trophy, a season is considered a failure. He recalled the Pochettino era at Tottenham as a period when the club felt like it was at the “elite table”, even without a title.

Abbi Summers added that these high expectations were born from the gradual progress built from the era of Martin Jol, Harry Redknapp, to Pochettino. Spurs are slowly becoming a team that consistently competes at the top and is entering the big club conversation.

That’s why, according to him, relegation will be the biggest shock. Tottenham are said to be part of the Premier League’s “big six”, with infrastructure and resources not built for life in the Championship. He even doubts that Spurs will be immediately promoted if they are actually relegated, because this club is considered not ready to face the competitive and structural consequences of being dropped from caste.

Comparisons also arise with clubs such as Aston Villa or Newcastle, which have been relegated. According to Summers, the two clubs are better prepared mentally and structurally to face the Championship than Tottenham are currently.

Implications More Than Just Standings

The threat of relegation for Tottenham is not just about position in the table. With 11 games remaining and no league wins yet in 2026, the psychological pressure is getting heavier. If this trend continues, Spurs could enter territory they have never faced in the modern era of the Premier League.

On the other hand, if Arsenal fail to convert opportunities in various competitions into trophies, their season will still be judged through the lens of high expectations. But for Tottenham, the consequences of relegation go far beyond embarrassment. It concerns the direction of the club, stability and identity as a permanent resident of the highest caste.

The debate over who is more embarrassing will probably continue. But for Tottenham, the priority now is not a matter of perception, but survival in the Premier League.