Summer signings and lack of savvy: why Tottenham failed in the Champions League


After Tottenham’s Champions League exit was confirmed with a defeat at Monaco, we look at the reasons for the meek showing by Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the competition

When Arsenal had to play their Champions League home ties at Wembley in 1998-99 and 1999-2000, Arsène Wenger and his players said all the right things about how the national stadium ought to lift them. It was only some time after the event that they revealed their true feelings. Wenger and Ray Parlour used the word “nightmare”, while Emmanuel Petit called it a “disaster”. Arsenal lost three of their six matches at Wembley and they failed to advance in the competition. It will be interesting to see whether – or, more likely, when – their Tottenham counterparts follow suit and say what they really think about their Wembley experiment. Because, make no mistake, they have not been comfortable there this season.

Related: Pochettino gamble falls flat in Monaco and Spurs crash out after five games

Related: Mauricio Pochettino says changes needed after Spurs flop in Monaco

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