Tottenham have made a strong start to the 2022/23 season and will be hoping to kick on once club football returns after the international break. Currently third in the Premier League table and one point behind Arsenal after an unbeaten start in the league, the only negative Antonio Conte's men have suffered so far came in the Champions League when they lost 2-0 away at Sporting CP.
As is always the case in the opening weeks of the season, players stand out and others struggle. So who are the winners and losers from Tottenham's first nine games? football.london takes a look.
Winners
Hugo Lloris
The World Cup winner has made an excellent start to the new campaign and delivered a number of top performances in the process. Although he did have a bit of a blip away at West Ham with his poor kick leading to their equaliser, on the whole he has been very good and played a key role in their form.
Lloris has also made a number of crucial saves, notably against Fulham and Leicester City in the Premier League, and he certainly didn't deserve to be on the losing side at Sporting CP after his heroics throughout. All will be hoping he is fit enough to start against Arsenal after his early return from international duty.
READ MORE: Perisic impact, calm Bentancur, Son struggle - Spurs players and Conte rated for season so far
Emerson Royal
Many believed Emerson's time at Tottenham was coming to an end in the summer after only one year in north London. Matt Doherty's terrific form prior to his season-ending knee injury had seen the Brazilian drop a place in the pecking order before he finished the campaign back in the team.
The arrival of Djed Spence didn't look good for Emerson, yet he has been an ever-present in Conte's Tottenham XI apart from last Saturday against Leicester City. Conte's trust in the player can be seen by the fact that he was the first substitute brought on against the Foxes.
Emerson's play in the final third still needs working on but he has most definitely improved as a player since working with Conte and his game time reflects that.
Eric Dier
Dier's international exile could be set to come to an end on Friday evening when England take on Italy at the San Siro. Extremely unlucky not to be part of Gareth Southgate's Three Lions plans earlier in the year following his terrific form in Conte's back three, the 28-year-old has been rewarded for his excellent displays.
Dier, once again, has been a pivotal figure in defence and has more than played his part in Tottenham's promising start to the campaign. As he explained after the Leicester game, if he and his fellow defenders can manage to keep clean sheets, Tottenham will win games because they have goals in their team.
The midfield duo
Conte has plenty of options when it comes to his midfield duo following the summer arrival of Yves Bissouma. However, the new man has had to bide his time on the bench so far with limited minutes coming his way.
Getting great success from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur's midfield partnership from February onwards, the head coach has persisted with both so far in 2022/23 and they have repaid him with very strong showings and also goals. Hojbjerg, who is someone who still divides the opinion of fans, has two goals and one assist from his first nine games, with his performances seeing him earn a nomination for September's Premier League Player of the Month award.
Bentancur, on the other hand, has continued to be a calm and composed presence in Tottenham's midfield, with his absence in last month's draw at West Ham extremely notable. Last Saturday was perhaps one of his finest showings in a Spurs shirt as he really turned it on in the second half against Leicester to register a pivotal goal and assist.
The left wing-backs
The signing of Ivan Perisic on a free transfer from Inter Milan back in the summer has proved to be a masterstroke. The Croat has made an immediate impression at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, contributing with four assists in nine games since making the switch.
His quality and experience is there for all to see and he will continue to play a major part for Conte's men over the course of the campaign. Perisic's arrival may have looked like bad news for Ryan Sessegnon but the England U21 international has still featured regularly for the Lilywhites.
Starting to get back to his best after a tough time in N17 since his switch from Fulham, Conte is a big fan of the left wing-back and that can be seen from him playing in six of their first seven league games so far this term. Getting a goal on the opening day against Southampton, Sessegnon can count himself very unlucky not to have added to his numbers with a goal and a couple of assists against former club Fulham at the start of the month following a standout performance.
Richarlison
Richarlison has made an immediate impression at his new club to become a firm favourite with the Tottenham faithful after only eight appearances. Some may have questioned the decision to splash out £60million on him given their attacking options at the club but the player has already delivered with some big moments, with his late Champions League double against Marseille the highlight of his Tottenham career so far.
His never-say-die attitude is one of his many endearing qualities and the player always makes an impact when he is on the pitch to cause opponents real problems. Richarlison will continue to be a major player for Tottenham and deliver when it matters most.
Losers
Matt Doherty
Conte admitted ahead of last weekend's game against Leicester City that Doherty will be given more playing time after the international break. The Republic of Ireland international only has eight minutes to his name from two appearances so far in 2022/23.
Always going to be tough for the player working his way back from a serious knee injury, minutes over the course of the international break will do him the world of good in his quest to become a Tottenham regular once again from October onwards.
Djed Spence
Tottenham fans wanting to see Spence on a regular basis in the starting XI are going to have to be very patient over the coming months. Linking up with the rest of the Tottenham squad towards the end of July with his transfer from Middlesbrough taking a lot longer to go through than many expected, the youngster then had to quickly get up to speed with Conte and Tottenham's demands.
Playing just the one game for his new club so far as he came on in the dying minutes against former club Nottingham Forest in August, the 22-year-old has missed out on a place in the squad in four of the team's seven league fixtures due to the many options at Conte's disposal. Impressing his boss on the training pitch with his desire and will, hopefully, Spurs fans will get to see a bit more of their new signing in action prior to the World Cup.
Son Heung-min
Son was in the headlines for all the right reasons last weekend following his hat-trick heroics in the space of 13 minutes and 21 seconds against Leicester. Not scoring in his eight games prior to the match at home to the Foxes, the noise and celebrations inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium said it all when the South Korean found the top corner with a stunning effort from distance.
Finishing last campaign at the top of his game to win the Premier League Golden Boot, the 30-year-old has been far from his best in 2022/23 and cut a frustrated figure more often than not, thus leading to plenty of speculation regarding his place in the XI. Tottenham need much more from their player and hopefully, the hat-trick will see Son embark on a goal flurry over the coming weeks.
Bryan Gil
Looking destined to leave Tottenham and return on loan to Valencia, a move to the Mestalla never came to fruition and the winger remains a Spurs player for the time being. Other than when a knock left him on the sidelines for three games, Gil has been a regular on the bench for Tottenham this season but pitch time hasn't come his way as a result.
It's hard to see where the minutes are going to come from for Gil as he has five players ahead of him in the pecking order. The Carabao Cup tie away at Nottingham Forest in November may be when Tottenham supporters see him for the first time since his last outing back in January.
Yves Bissouma
The introduction of Bissouma against Leicester City helped turn the game in Spurs' favour following a switch to a three-man midfield. Performing well and playing his part in the victory, the Mali international is likely to see an increase in minutes after the international break.
So far playing a bit-part role off the bench as he tries to adapt to Conte's thinking, the boss did admit a week ago that the summer signing is struggling with the tactical aspect and he has to pay more attention defensively. Certainly not the start Bissouma would have wanted to his Spurs career with only one starting come his way, he will have the opportunity to show what he's really about ahead of the World Cup with so many games on the calendar.
Oliver Skipp
Skipp is still waiting for his first minutes of the season having returned to the matchday squad at the end of August. Missing a large chunk of the second part of last term following a pelvic problem that required minor surgery, he did make his comeback on the South Korea pre-season tour and looked like he had not been away.
However, he was dealt another blow ahead of the Rangers friendly after suffering a hairline fracture to his heel in a freak impact injury in training. Conte is a big fan of the player and looks set to hand him more minutes after the international break.
READ NEXT:
Antonio Conte is about to embark on 43 days that could shape his and Tottenham's season
Harry Kane contract latest plus Antonio Conte's Tottenham future amid those Juventus links
Antonio Conte's superb reaction to Son goal vs Leicester and Tottenham player he celebrated with
Son Heung-min explains Gian Piero Ventrone moment after Tottenham hat-trick and his celebration
Lucas Moura, Emerson Royal and the other Tottenham stars Antonio Conte can work with in training
