Former Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham admits it would be ‘bad for the club’ if they lose their fight for Premier League survival this season.
Spurs are 17th in the top-flight table after a disastrous campaign which has seen them win just seven of 31 league games under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, who have both been appointed and sacked this season, with former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi now in the hot-seat.
The Londoners are just one point ahead of 18th-placed West Ham, who face Wolves at home on Friday night when the Premier League resumes from the international break.
Former England striker Sheringham had two spells at Tottenham Hotspur (1992–1997, 2001–2003) and won the inaugural Premier League Golden Boot in the 1992-93 season.
‘Bad for the club’
And in an exclusive interview with BestBettingSites in which he also discussed Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night, he said: “If Tottenham went down, that would obviously be bad for the club.
“If West Ham went down, it’s not the end of the world – they’ve been used to that, up and down, albeit not for a while – so it wouldn’t be such a shock, although it wouldn’t be great.
“If Arsenal won the league, it wouldn’t make my weekend very happy.
“If they lost the league and the Champions League, that would be funny (laughs).
“Ask me again at the end of the season and how it all ends, because they’d have to really implode for [Mikel] Arteta not to win anything. That would be hilarious (if it happened).
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Massive game for Arsenal
“I’m over in Portugal at the moment and I’m a Sporting Lisbon fan this week – a lot of people here are talking about going to the game.
“It’s a massive game for Arsenal, especially after the last couple of results.”
Sheringham racked up 418 Premier League appearances during a storied career that included stints at Tottenham and West Ham, while he also had a season playing for Nottingham Forest before the inception of the Premier League in 1992.
Praise for Rice
And he admits he has been impressed by the form of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice this season, with the England star having played a pivotal role in the Gunners surging nine points ahead of second-placed Manchester City (who have a game in hand) with seven games remaining.
The 60-year-old, who won the Treble with Manchester United in 1999, said: “Declan Rice is right up there – no one has been as consistent.
“If you take him out of the Arsenal team, there’s a massive hole – they need him to see out the season. He’s the standout.
“[Erling] Haaland’s had a dip at a critical time – I know he scored a hat-trick the other day, but a month ago he was quiet. Bernardo Silva has stepped up but hasn’t been as consistent.
“[Morgan] Rogers has had a good season but also a dip.
“Arsenal defensively have been big and strong, but had problems recently. [Bukayo] Saka’s had his first dip in form since coming through.
“Not many others stand out. Igor Thiago has probably been the most consistent rival, but because he’s not at a big club he won’t be in that conversation.”
Forest are just three points above West Ham heading into the weekend, when they take on Aston Villa on home soil in a 2pm kick-off on Sunday.
Beleaguered Tottenham travel to Sunderland on Sunday for De Zerbi’s first game in charge.
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