FROM THE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – In the modern era of the Premier League, the north London derby has tended to favor the home team. In recent years, that sentiment has turned against the white half of the city.
Arsenal have now won three games in a row at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, one more win than Spurs have achieved at home at the Emirates Stadium, despite giving their rivals a 13-year lead.
Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to the Gunners he will almost certainly be instrumental in one way or another in Ange Postecoglou’s tenure as head coach. Once again, the stats were kind to Tottenham, who had 64% possession, more shots, more shots on goal and a better expected goals total.
However, it didn’t look like they would have been deserved winners of this derby, even deserved points if they had conjured an equalizer from somewhere.
The weekend build-up focused on Arsenal’s meager midfield options in the absence of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. Tottenham’s midfield trio walked all over Jorginho and Thomas Partey, but that mattered little in the grand scheme of the game.
Many of the chances of the locals were average and not full. That may be down to the imperious defensive juggernaut Arsenal are today, but that doesn’t explain their struggles to cut through Newcastle United and Leicester City already this season, or any of the 19 teams that did last year.
The plan of attack is fine, but deeply flawed. For Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham’s ambitions, may not be enough to succeed. And the biggest problem is going the other way.
Spurs are easy to play. You might not be able to take the ball away from them for long stretches and you might not even play well, but they will give you space in transition, space on free throws, space in corners. There is always a set move to win and a lapse of concentration to pour on. This time, it was the corner space, however marginal.
what is happening to him Tottenham it is not an accident, rather it is the fault of ill-advised planning. Postecoglou laments that his team’s biggest problem is their lack of clinical finishing, but that power won’t come back like opening a tap: the goals won’t flow because the chances aren’t clear.
One of the biggest compliments you can pay Mikel Arteta is that he has redefined who Arsenal are, as they too were once. Now you’d be hard-pressed to find a more casual outfit.
Postecoglou has been successful all over the world, but now under the Premier League spotlight his flaws are starting to stand out.
Tottenham’s record in big games and derbies – zero wins against Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham United – is becoming as predictable as their favorite game. When Spurs will play a disguised reverse pass between the lines on the wing for a cut-back cross at the near post, they won’t take three points when the stakes are high.
Postecoglou is firm in her belief that if her men work hard enough, they will overcome this difficult period and become the team of their dreams. It’s not even as clear a guarantee that it will happen as he seems to think.
