• Can Tottenham finally eclipse Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in the Premier League?

And so one of the most interesting elements of the Mauricio Pochettino revolution at Tottenham has been in traditionally the most unloved position of all. At Southampton, his culinary skills helped to convert full-backs Calum Chambers, Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw from raw flesh into flame-grilled full internationals. Now, something similar may be happening at Tottenham. And it may prove the key to ending Tottenham’s 55-year wait for a league title.

The win against Watford that lifted them into second place was the ideal illustration. The best way to stop Tottenham is to do exactly what Watford did: stay narrow, cede the flanks, deny their attackers space in the centre. Watford executed the plan to perfection, and still gave away 26 shots. This was why their manager Quique Sánchez Flores rated them as their best opponents of the season.

“We train a lot, and take a lot of care what happens in transition,” he said. “We know perfectly what we want to do when we recuperate [recover] the ball. But it was impossible. They are like animals.”