When it was confirmed that Gareth Bale (£4.8m) would rejoin Spurs on loan in the summer, many speculated whether the north London club had assembled the best front three in the Premier League.
That conversation quickly evaporated as the Welshman became one of the best-paid benchwarmers in English football history as Son Heung-min (£4.7m) and Harry Kane (£6.6m) lit up the first third of the season with their telepathy.
For a while it seemed as if the electric double act would fuel a sustained title charge but eventually an overreliance on Kane and Son was exposed and results dipped to the point Jose Mourinho’s side occupied 9th place at one stage.
Since then the Portuguese coach has ditched his cautious approach and replaced it with one of entertaining ambition — enter Bale.
In recent games, Mourinho has employed Bale, Son, Kane and Lucas Moura (£2.9m) in what is effectively a 4-2-4 formation.
This attack thrashed Burnley and Crystal Palace, scoring eight goals in the two games either side of a hard-fought 1-0 win over in-form Fulham.
Kane has rediscovered his very best form, scoring five goals in his last four games in all competitions while also providing two assists.
The talismanic No10 plundered 40 Dream Team points in Game Week 24 — he’s now just 18 points short of a triple century for the season!
Bale has scored four goals and provided one assist in his last three starts and has been in generally excellent form since the first leg of the Europa League round of 32.
The 31-year-old has added 60 points since Game Week 21, which is even more than Kane has managed in the same time frame.
Son hasn’t actually scored since Mourinho’s defection from the dark side but he’s registered three assists and has been a constant threat in the final third.
It may have taken too long for some fans’ liking but Spurs have finally unleashed their fearsome front three, and with impressive results.
Kane, Bale and Son have combined for a massive 559 Dream Team points between them at this stage with 15 Star Man awards and 52 7+ ratings.
They’ve scored 51 goals and provided 33 assists between them, which is even more imposing when you consider how sparingly Bale was used during the first half of the campaign.
Kane is expected to start the north London derby despite taking a slight knock against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday night.
“Sunday is a match everyone wants to play and little things will not stop him,” Mourinho told BT Sport. “I don’t have the feeling it is anything serious.”
The England captain has great record against Arsenal and will be keen to extend his side’s run of wins in pursuit of Champions League qualification.
And with Bale and Son in support, the Gunners face an extremely tough task this weekend.