Arsenal icon Martin Keown lavishes praise on Richarlison and Spurs frontline, makes Brazil comparison
Arsenal legend Martin Keown has praised Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking depth and cited the example of Spurs striker Richarlison to imply that their attack can be compared to that of the Brazil national.
Spurs signed Richarlison from Everton this summer and he has been in red-hot form this month. He was equally impressive for the Brazil national team this month where he scored in both of their games.
Richarlison started ahead of Roberto Firmino both times and was selected by manager Tite ahead of Gabriel Jesus. Speaking in an interview (h/t Metro), Keown stated that one can have an idea of the depth of Spurs’ attack by seeing how Richy is struggling to become a regular starter there.
“The front three for Tottenham… I mean, if Richarlison is in the Brazil team but can’t get in the Spurs team, that shows how good he is. There’s four players to pick from. It’s the strongest Tottenham squad I have seen for years.”
Keown is correct in his assessment to some extent as Richarlison did struggle to start in the first few weeks of the season. He sat out of the Premier League opener as he was serving a ban for the flare incident with Everton last season.
In the next four league games, the former Watford man came on as a substitute. Since then, however, he has started regularly and was in the starting XI for their next four games across all competitions.
His star against Leicester City, in fact, came at the expense of Son Heung-min sitting on the bench. It’s a different story that the South Korea international then came on and scored the last three goals in a 6-2 win against the Foxes.
Spurs also have Dejan Kulusevski and Harry Kane in attack and it is understandable why Keown, who won three Premier League titles with Arsenal, thinks that this is the strongest Spurs squad in years.
More Tottenham News:
- Tottenham and Arsenal targeted striker Jonathan David before Richarlison and Gabriel Jesus transfers
- Tottenham Hotspur winger Dejan Kulusevski could miss Arsenal clash due to muscle injury
- Tottenham Hotspur earmark Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak as Hugo Lloris replacement
In all fairness, Brazil do have Neymar Jr, Antony, Firmino, and Vinicius Jr among other attackers but if Richarlison is starting regularly for them, then it does show the player’s quality as well as how difficult it is to be an attacker and earn a regular starting spot in Conte’s Spurs.
