Arsenal Legend Martin Keown Predicts That Tottenham's New Stadium Will Be a 'Massive Help' for Spurs

Former Arsenal and England centre back Martin Keown has argued that Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium will have a 'galvanising effect' on Mauricio Pochettino's side, who played their home matches at Wembley Stadium last season.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Keown said: "It [the new stadium] will be a massive help. They don’t want to be at Wembley for any longer than they need to be."

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Spurs are scheduled to play their first home game of the 2018/19 Premier League season against Liverpool on 15th September. Spurs hammered the Reds 4-1 in the league at Wembley last season, but the Merseyside club have made several high profile purchases this summer - unlike Spurs, who are yet to make a single summer signing.

Keown sounded excited about the prospect of Tottenham's first league match at their new stadium. 

"Opening the new ground against Liverpool will be great theatre," he enthused, adding: "The stadium will have a galvanising effect on the club."

While not noted for their affection for Keown, Spurs fans will hope that the Gunners legend is right - not least because the new stadium cost an estimated £750m to build. In particular, they will hope that the 'galvanising effect' mentioned by Keown will compensate for their side's lack of signings.

Despite some initial difficulties as they struggled to adapt to Wembley, Mauricio Pochettino's side achieved some excellent results there last season - not least the aforementioned drubbing of Liverpool and their stunning 3-1 win over eventual champions Real Madrid in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Quoted in the same article, Keown also sounded optimistic about his former club's prospects next season. "Unai Emery is a successful manager who is not here to finish fifth," he declared, adding: "I’m not saying they are ready for a title challenge but the top four has to be the objective."