The mood inside Tottenham Hotspur has undergone a transformation over the last six months.

When Roberto De Zerbi was appointed as head coach on a five-year contract in March, it looked like they were going to be relegated. Spurs had not won a game in 2026 and fans were grappling with the prospect of spending at least 12 months stuck in the Championship. However, De Zerbi turned their fortunes around and they survived after beating Everton 1-0 on the final day to finish 17th for the second consecutive season.

Spurs have been one of the biggest spenders in the transfer market this summer, as well as tying down some key players to long-term contracts. Excitement is building that De Zerbi can achieve something truly special.

Here, The Athletic looks at how Tottenham’s season might play out.

What are the expectations inside the club?

Nearly £250million (more than $330m) has been spent on six new signings and Spurs would like to add a couple more before the window closes, including Manchester City winger Savinho.

There is a lack of attacking options within the squad, especially because Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Dejan Kulusevski are recovering from long-term knee injuries, but Spurs should be aiming for the top six.

Savinho has been a long-term target for Spurs (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Who have they signed?

The defence and midfield have been remodelled. Spurs broke their transfer record twice in a week to sign Mateus Fernandes for £85m and Sandro Tonali for £100m from West Ham United and Newcastle United.

Last season’s captain Cristian Romero has joined Atletico Madrid and has been replaced by Jan Paul van Hecke — signed from Brighton & Hove Albion — in central defence. Andy Robertson arrived from Liverpool as a free agent to provide competition for left-back Destiny Udogie but fan favourite Djed Spence left for Inter.

Micky van de Ven agreed a new long-term contract and will battle with new signing Marcos Senesi to start as the team’s left-sided centre-back. Antonin Kinsky’s promotion to first-choice goalkeeper allowed Guglielmo Vicario to pursue a loan move to Juventus, with an option to buy. That means Martin Dubravka will be Kinsky’s understudy after leaving Burnley when his contract expired in June.

Jan Paul van Hecke has been brought in to strengthen Spurs’ defence (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

If Spurs can complete a deal for Savinho and add another quality forward, they will have arguably had the most exciting summer window of any Premier League side this year.

What is their transfer priority before the window closes?

Spurs’ pursuit of Savinho has been well-documented but they probably need another centre-forward. Richarlison, last season’s top scorer (12 goals in all competitions), has played under five different head coaches since he joined Spurs in July 2022 and has never been a perfect fit. De Zerbi admitted earlier this month that the Brazil international “sometimes wants to leave”.

Dominic Solanke is talented but only made 15 appearances last season for a total of 1,000 minutes. The England international has started in under 50 per cent of the available league games (36 out of 76) since he arrived from Bournemouth in August 2024. Spurs need a striker who is consistently available and can carry out De Zerbi’s demands.

Solanke’s injury issues have prevented him from becoming a key player for Spurs (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

What else is new?

It is easy to forget that De Zerbi barely tinkered with the team’s tactics when he took over, as he focused on lifting their spirits following a miserable period under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor.

There have been glimpses throughout pre-season of the intricate, risky build-up play that earned De Zerbi so many admirers during his two-year spell with Brighton. Kinsky is more suited to De Zerbi’s style than Vicario, so expect to see lots of nerve-inducing passes under pressure from him and Tottenham’s centre-backs inside their own penalty area.

What is the biggest lesson they learned last season?

Spurs were stung in the summer of 2025 by their failed pursuits of Bryan Mbeumo, Eberechi Eze, Antoine Semenyo and Morgan Gibbs-White. Former executive chairman Daniel Levy had a reputation for haggling over deals, sometimes allowing rival clubs to steal transfer targets from them. Spurs then gambled in January by signing only Conor Gallagher and Souza, now 20, when the team was in dire need of more help.

There has been a complete change of attitude this summer from chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and recently appointed director of football operations Carlos Raphael Moersen. Spurs beat off competition from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to sign Fernandes, while Manchester City were interested in Tonali. But Spurs acted quickly to tie up those deals and secure Porro, Kinsky and Van de Ven to new contracts.

Spurs are finally throwing money around in a way they rarely have before.

Spurs outpaced rivals to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham (Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Who’s been the best player in pre-season?

Lucas Bergvall has been exceptional despite the uncertainty over his future. The Athletic reported in June that the midfielder expressed a preference to move on but bids from Nottingham Forest and Newcastle were rejected. Bergvall has worked hard and has shown signs of building an exciting partnership with Tonali. Even so, it is unlikely he will start in Saturday’s league opener against Brentford because Fernandes has recovered from the minor injury that restricted his game time on the pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Luca Williams-Barnett, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder, has thrived and a tough decision needs to be made about whether he should stay with the first-team squad or head out on loan.

What are they worried about?

Mention injuries to anybody connected with Spurs and you will send a shiver down their spine. Fitness issues have played a huge part in Spurs recording back-to-back 17th-place finishes in the top flight. Three players tore their anterior cruciate ligaments last season, Kulusevski did not play a single minute and several other squad members suffered muscle problems.

Dan Lewindon joined as performance director in February and has instigated changes that will hopefully help them avoid another injury crisis but there are concerns about the limited involvement of Van de Ven, Udogie, Solanke and Mohammed Kudus in pre-season.

Dejan Kulusevski has not featured for Spurs since May 2025 (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

How’s the manager feeling?

De Zerbi should be thrilled by Tottenham’s business this summer. Landing Fernandes and Tonali was extremely impressive, while Van Hecke and Van de Ven can reignite an excellent centre-back partnership that can be traced back to the Netherlands’ youth teams. As a bonus, Andrew Crofts has been appointed as De Zerbi’s assistant coach after they previously worked together on the south coast.

Romero, Spence and Vicario could have become distractions but Spurs have waved goodbye to them before the start of the new campaign. If Spurs sign a couple of attacking players, then they will have put everything in place for De Zerbi to succeed.

What’s the percentage chance of De Zerbi seeing out the season?

This should be a straightforward answer after the Italian’s rescue act last season. The 47-year-old has a huge amount of credit with supporters and a strong relationship with senior figures.

However, De Zerbi never sticks around for too long. He fell out with his bosses at Brighton over their recruitment strategy and left Marseille after they were knocked out of the Champions League. Hopefully, all of the ingredients are there for a fruitful, long-lasting relationship, but you never know.

Spurs fans are excited about how their club can progress under De Zerbi (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

I wouldn’t be surprised if…

Spurs gatecrashed the top four. They have struggled over the last few years to juggle domestic competitions with Europe but they do not have that dilemma this season. In theory, players will feel refreshed and coaching staff will have more time to prepare for opponents.

Over the last 12 months, Spurs have cycled through three different head coaches, sacked their long-serving executive chairman, rehired Fabio Paratici only for him to leave after four months and had multiple parties express an interest in taking over from the majority shareholders, the Lewis family.

There is never a dull day in north London. Quite frankly, anything could happen.

What is their strongest XI?

4-2-3-1: Antonin Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Jan Paul van Hecke, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali; Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel; Dominic Solanke.

There are painful losses, and then there is what the Seattle Mariners experienced Tuesday with a 22-0 thrashing by the league-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Seattle, which entered play with a minus-23 run differential, walked out of American Family Field with a minus-45 mark that would rank as the third best in what has been an ignominious American League West division.

The 22 runs allowed by four Mariners pitchers, one of whom was a position player, tied for the most given up by a Seattle club in franchise history. On the other side, the Brewers’ 22 runs tied the record for the most scored in their franchise history.

As is usually the case, the history didn’t end there, either.

Tuesday’s drubbing tied for the largest shutout win since the start of 1888. To find a bigger margin of victory, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, you’d have to go back to June 28, 1887, when the Philadelphia Quakers dismantled the Indianapolis Hoosiers to the tune of 24-0.

The largest by a team at home?

Well, that honor goes to the 1885 New York Giants, whose 24-0 pummeling of the Buffalo Bisons has stood the test of time.

Only two other teams — the 2004 Cleveland Indians and 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates — have matched a shutout of Tuesday’s magnitude, with equal 22-0 hammerings of the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, respectively.

It was a big night for Luis Lara and the Milwaukee Brewers. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press)

In all, 12 Brewers players reached the plate 50 times at American Family Field; only one (Brice Turang) did not record a hit. Each of them, however, managed to reach base at least once, combining for an even 22 hits and 22 runs scored. Four players hit a home run, including rookie Luis Lara, who clubbed his first long ball as part of a 3-for-6 evening.

Tuesday’s contest wasn’t an immediate blowout. In fact, through the first four innings, the biggest source of noise was a tornado warning for Milwaukee County, as the Brewers were held to just one run on four hits. The dam burst in the fifth, and runs continued to pour in during each of the next four innings, including nine in the bottom of the eighth, when a hapless Leo Rivas was tasked with getting the Mariners back to their team hotel.

Julio Rodriguez forgot how many outs there were and gifted the Brewers their 21st run of the night pic.twitter.com/GiCBX6ABxu

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 19, 2026

As if things weren’t already bleak, Milwaukee was gifted its 21st run after Julio Rodríguez forgot how many outs there were in the bottom of the eighth. Seattle’s center fielder turned a routine fly ball — and just the second out of the inning — into a souvenir for fans, allowing one more Brewer to score on what was originally a sacrifice fly.

The helplessness by Seattle also extended to its lineup, as the Mariners were unable to cash in a single run against Gary Sánchez, who completed the shutout as a position player pitching. The Mariners lineup was limited to just five hits, striking out 10 times against four walks.

For the Brewers, it was business as usual for the club that leads MLB with a 78-48 record with 36 games left to play. On the other side, it was more misery for the Mariners. Last year’s AL West champions have now dropped seven of their last 10 games. At 59-67, they sit four games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West and three back of the AL’s third and final wild-card spot.

The schedule won’t lighten up for Seattle for a bit; the club still has two games remaining against the Brewers before playing host to the Chicago Cubs (74-53, first in the NL wild card) and the Philadelphia Phillies (69-58, second in the NL wild card). From there, the Mariners will hit the road against the resurgent Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays to close out August.

If there is any consolation, it’s the fact that the rest of the AL West has been equally futile. The Astros’ 63-63 record is the highest mark in the division, and every club is at least minus-32 runs or worse in run differential.

There are few colder realities in football than discovering your club has decided you are expendable.

Colder still, perhaps, is discovering others knew before you did.

Arsenal are hoping to sell Gabriel Martinelli. The club have welcomed offers for the 25-year-old Brazil international, and recently received a €45million (£38.4m; $51.8m) bid from Galatasaray.

The problem is that Martinelli himself has not been directly informed of Arsenal’s plans — and nor, until now, has he sought to leave. The player’s camp have made clear to sporting director Andrea Berta he is not interested in a move to Turkey, and would only consider leaving for a league and club that meets his ambition.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with Arsenal deciding to sell Martinelli. Elite football demands difficult, sometimes brutal decisions.

Mikel Arteta has spent years stripping unhelpful sentimentality out of Arsenal. That ruthlessness has largely served the club well. Players have been discarded, standards raised and difficult calls made in pursuit of a team capable of winning the biggest prizes. Last season, that project came to fruition when Arsenal lifted a first Premier League title for 22 years.

Martinelli would not be the first to be sacrificed on the altar of progress. Other fan favourites, such as Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe, were also sold when Arteta deemed the team to have evolved beyond them.

Martinelli has been with Arsenal for seven years. Although he scored 10 goals in knockout competitions last season, including six in the Champions League, 30 Premier League appearances yielded just one goal.

Gabriel Martinelli has been at Arsenal for seven years (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

He signed his most recent contract in February 2023. That is due to expire next summer, although Arsenal hold an option for an extra year. There have been no talks about an extension. Arsenal recognise this may be one of their last chances to secure a significant fee.

In recent windows, Arteta and Arsenal have been open to trading Martinelli to refresh their options on the left. Christos Tzolis has already been signed to replace Leandro Trossard, and Martinelli can not have failed to notice the high-profile pursuits of compatriot Vinicius Junior and Morgan Rogers.

Being left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for the Community Shield does not augur well for Martinelli’s future. Arteta named Bukayo Saka and 16-year-old Max Dowman among his nine substitutes, ostensibly both covering the right-wing position — yet there was no place for Martinelli. As Arsenal celebrated winning the 2026-27 curtain-raiser, Martinelli stayed largely on the sidelines.

He looked like a player unsure of his place. It is painful to feel unwanted.

It is painful for many Arsenal fans, too. Martinelli is loved by many supporters. He’s a dedicated professional whose combination of skill and endeavour made him one of the faces of Arsenal’s rebuild. Once Smith Rowe’s contribution began to wane, Martinelli took over as Saka’s partner in crime.

When Arsenal lifted the Premier League trophy in May, Martinelli’s comments made his love for the club plain.

“We didn’t just build a team, we built a family, an identity, and something the fans could believe in again,” he wrote on Instagram. “To see this club back where it belongs is one of the proudest moments of my career.”

All good things come to an end. Football clubs have to determine when to replace players — even when the incumbent is popular, committed and useful.

But after seven years of service, perhaps Martinelli is entitled to expect more candour from his employer.

Arsenal aren’t obliged to ask anyone’s permission before exploring the market — clubs routinely sound out interest and explore deals informally.

But at what stage does that tip over into actively working to secure a sale? If Arsenal are seeking to engineer Martinelli’s exit, surely the player deserves to know where he stands. Martinelli is entitled, too, to turn down the move if it does not appeal.

There may be a simple explanation: perhaps Arsenal have not told Martinelli they intend to sell him because they are not certain they will. For all the talk of upgrading, Rogers and Vinicius Jr have eluded them, and the list of plausible upgrades is dwindling. This may be pure pragmatism — something we have come to expect from Arteta, and indeed Berta.

Alternatively, perhaps Arsenal’s actions are driven by an increasing pressure to sell. The club entered the window with an ambitious sales plan, most of which has not yet materialised. Arsenal are now having to pursue sales more aggressively by soliciting bids from other clubs. Martinelli may be caught up in that — as may Myles Lewis-Skelly, reputedly offered to Manchester United and Chelsea by intermediaries.

It is not a straightforward situation. Arteta is clearly skilled at fostering a sense of togetherness and unity among the squad. When a player no longer forms part of his plans, however, he has shown a capacity to be ruthless. Elite sport demands that mentality.

The danger occurs if that ruthlessness veers into institutional coldness. Players and agents take note of how players are treated. And the remaining squad learns something about what loyalty to the club is ultimately worth.

Perhaps this is simply what Arsenal becoming a serious superclub looks like. Perhaps there is always another upgrade to find, another margin to exploit, another player whose value can be converted into somebody better.

The higher Arsenal climb, the finer those margins become, and the more ruthless Arteta and Arsenal may have to be.

Martinelli felt he found a “family” at Arsenal. How the club handle his uncertain future may determine whether that feeling endures.