Tottenham have just won three Premier League games in a row for the first time in 616 days, and only one of the seven goals in that run came from a striker.
Jan Paul van Hecke’s goal from the floor against 10-man Crystal Palace on Saturday was the latest example at Tottenham, with a centre-back and a right-back getting the goals, a week after a Chelsea goalkeeper had helped them out at Stamford Bridge. Dominic Solanke hasn’t scored in any of the three wins. Omar Marmoush got one against Coventry. Mohammed Kudus, the man who took the corner for the opener against Palace, hasn’t scored in the run either.
Nobody at N17 should be moaning about this run, least of all after what came before it. Roberto De Zerbi’s side were bottom a fortnight ago and the win over Palace has lifted them to eighth. But the Tottenham striker question hasn’t gone anywhere. De Zerbi was asking for more cutting edge after the goalless draw with Everton in September, and he was asking for it again on Saturday night.
Where have the goals in this winning run come from?
All over the place, which is both the good news and the bad news. Here are the seven goals from the three wins:
| Game | Goal | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Coventry 3-1 | James Maddison | Playmaker |
| Coventry 3-1 | Omar Marmoush | Striker |
| Coventry 3-1 | Ben Davies | Defender |
| Chelsea 2-0 | Mike Penders | Chelsea goalkeeper, own goal |
| Chelsea 2-0 | Mathys Tel | Winger |
| Crystal Palace 2-0 | Archie Gray | Right-back |
| Crystal Palace 2-0 | Jan Paul van Hecke | Centre-back |
That is seven goals from seven different sources, and only one of them belongs to a striker. Three came from defenders. Two came straight out of corners, with Penders punching Mateus Fernandes’s delivery into his own net at Stamford Bridge and Gray heading in from Kudus’s at the far post on Saturday.
There’s real value in that. A team that can score from anywhere is awkward to prepare for, and the Palace opener looked like proper work from the training ground, with Sandro Tonali and Tel blocking off the markers so that Gray could arrive on his own. It just isn’t a formula you would want to bet a whole season on.
Why did 34 shots only bring two goals?
Partly Dean Henderson, who had a very good night, and partly Palace, who had 10 men behind the ball from the moment Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off after 13 minutes. Mostly, though, it was finishing. Spurs had 34 shots and 3.26 expected goals against Palace’s two shots and 0.14, and they needed a defender on his backside to make the game safe with 17 minutes left.
The clearest chance of the night fell in the closing minutes, when teenager Luca Williams-Barnett raced past Anan Khalaili and Kudus somehow missed at the back post. Solanke did have one smart turn and shot saved, but he was off early in the second half, with Conor Gallagher coming on in his place.
De Zerbi knows exactly what is missing, and what he said about it was fascinating. “Maybe we could score more goals with more nastiness, but I am very happy because we created many chances,” he told Sky Sports. In his press conference he went further: “If we want to follow the perfection, we have to be more… nasty. That is an individual thing, because if I’m number 9, number 10, I want to score, but I can’t say nothing.”
That last line is the one we’d underline. Coaches can drill the shape, the press and the second-post delivery, and De Zerbi is doing all of that very well. What he’s describing is the bit that has to come from the player.
Is this about Solanke, or about the whole forward line?
Bit of both, to be fair to the two men involved. Solanke had two goals in 10 games in all competitions before Saturday, and he didn’t add to them. Marmoush’s goal against Coventry is the only one a striker has scored in this run. Against Palace, De Zerbi’s praise for the pair was telling: “Marmoush, Solanke, very well, especially when we lost the ball.” A manager saying that about his forwards after a 34-shot night is pleased with their work rate, and we’d say he is saying something about their end product too.
Neither of them got much help from the situation, mind. With Palace packed in deep, there was nobody on the pitch who plays between the lines the way James Maddison does, because he stayed on the bench all night and Dejan Kulusevski only came on later. Kudus and Tel kept getting at their full-backs and putting balls into the box. What the night lacked was a forward attacking those balls with the same conviction.
De Zerbi also admitted that this kind of game may be beyond his team for now. “Maybe now we are not ready yet to play against one low block so close, so aggressive, in so small spaces,” he said. “Maybe in two, three months we can reach the right level to play better against one low block.” That gives the team time to grow. It doesn’t put goals in the strikers’ boots this month.
Could Kulusevski help in the short term?
He is the most interesting option already in the building. This was his third appearance since a 526-day absence, and he looked far sharper than anybody had a right to expect, finishing the game by forcing Henderson to tip a shot over the bar. He’s clever enough with his movement to play closer to goal, and that is a role we would love to see him tried in as his minutes build.
The catch is obvious. Nobody should be rushing a player back from that long out, and Spurs finally have the depth to avoid doing so. Kulusevski is a thought for the spring rather than a fix for next weekend.
Should Tottenham sign a striker in January?
Sign one, if the right one is there. Spurs are not looking to sell Solanke, who is signed until 2030, so this would be about adding to the group rather than replacing him. With Richarlison frozen out by De Zerbi and expected to find a new club, the space in the squad should open up anyway.
The name that fits best is the one De Zerbi already knows. Marseille’s Amine Gouiri scored 17 goals for him and links play the way this system asks a forward to, though he won’t come cheap and Spurs would have to shift Richarlison first. Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Younes Ebnoutalib have also been linked, and neither would be a simple deal in mid-season.
Until the window opens, Spurs just have to keep doing what they’re doing. Tonali and Fernandes have given the midfield real control, the wingers are getting into the right areas, and the set-pieces are paying off. The job between now and January is to keep the goals coming from everywhere.
Verdict: Spurs can win without a striker firing, but not for 38 games
We think this run is real. Three wins, two clean sheets and a team that finally looks like one, which is exactly how De Zerbi put it: “Now we are playing as a team.” After Saturday’s games Spurs were only four points behind Chelsea, and it’s a long time since anybody in N17 could say something like that with a straight face.
But if Spurs want to be anywhere near that conversation in May, they need a forward in double figures, and Solanke’s numbers so far are a long way from that. Leeds United at Elland Road next Saturday lunchtime will be another chance for Solanke or Marmoush to change our minds. We’d be delighted to be proved wrong.
