Ledley King hopes Sunday’s Capital One Cup final will mark the start of a golden era for Tottenham that will also end Arsenal’s domination of north London.
Seven years have passed since King lifted Spurs’ last piece of silverware – the League Cup, which they won with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea after extra time.
The two London rivals meet again on Sunday, and King believes Tottenham will win if they put on the kind of performance that saw them blow the Blues away 5-3 at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day.
“I am very hopeful, having seen what Tottenham did to Chelsea earlier this season, that if they play well, there is no reason why they can’t win the game,” said the former Spurs captain, who was speaking on behalf of credit card company and League Cup sponsor Capital One.
Since that day at Wembley in 2008, Spurs have sacked four managers, but King thinks the club have finally found the right man to lead them in Mauricio Pochettino.
Ever since he observed the Argentinian’s first training sessions as Tottenham boss last summer, King felt the club were going to have a good campaign.
For years, King was the only academy product to nail down a first-team place at Spurs, but this season Pochettino has given prominent roles to the likes of Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb.
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King reckons there is hunger, talent and most importantly – stability – at White Hart Lane, which he hopes will help the club go on and lift many a trophy in the near future.
“It has been too long since Tottenham won something,” said King, who played for the north London club for 13 injury-plagued years.
“A club like Tottenham should be looking to win silverware on a more regular basis and now the players have a chance to make history.
“I hope this will be the start of something.
“To see all the young players coming through, it’s brilliant for the club.
“The talent has always been there. It’s about having the opportunity. We have a manager now that enjoys giving young players a chance if they are good enough.”
Arsenal have benefited from the stability of Arsene Wenger’s long reign at the Emirates Stadium, although their mental strength was questioned on Wednesday when they crumbled to a 3-1 home defeat to Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Tottenham, who are four points shy of Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League, have not finished above their arch rivals for 20 years, but King thinks that might be about to change.
“The top four is the aim for the end of the season,” the 34-year-old said. “Finishing above Arsenal would be the icing on the cake.
“I think the gap has been closing over the years to the point where there is not much between the two teams any more.
“I think what Arsenal have had is stability over the years and we haven’t really had that.
“Now we have more stability.
“For the first time in a while, everyone can see the clear picture of where we are trying to go.”
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