How Eze to Arsenal forever changed Tottenham's future

The north London derby rivals have endured major changes in the boardroom in recent months, setting the scene for a new era in the Premier League

- Miguel Delaney

In the weeks before Daniel Levy left Tottenham Hotspur in September, a Premier League counterpart noticed something that meant the shock departure wasn’t actually much of a surprise at all.

They’d registered how Vivienne Lewis - the daughter of former Spurs owner Joe Lewis, whose shares have since been put in a family trust – was suddenly visible at games, “smiling and laughing”. Such conviviality was all the more conspicuous since many rival executives say they hadn't actually met her. The feeling was: “It didn’t look good for Daniel.”

Levy isn’t seen at all now, which will make a real change for the north London derby, right up to how former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham is now at Spurs. The refreshed hierarchy is set to be greeted by the increasingly prominent Josh Kroenke, son of Arsenal owner Stan.

It won't just be a first meeting of new leadership teams across north London, as both clubs coincidentally made huge changes at the same time. It might also herald a more significant shift in English football.

The billionaires have already taken over. Now it’s the time for the billionaires' children.

And while football clubs have obviously been passed down through wealthy families before – not least Arsenal’s Hill-Woods – the very ownership rules ensured it wasn’t the same. Even Manchester United are different, since Malcolm Glazer’s children made decisions at Manchester United from the start.

Spurs insiders would insist that the Lewises have been much more present for some time but less noticed, in the same way that Josh Kroenke had been attending men’s and women’s games without people scrutinising in the same way they do now. Still, this is the first time we’re witnessing a deeper handover in this US capitalist era.

There’s an obvious reference here that many in football are already joking about. This is Succession in the Premier League.