Reasons for optimism or the same old failings exposed?
When it comes to perceptions of Ange Postecoglou, Sunday’s north London derby reinforced both of those points of view.
The 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal was a strange game. Tottenham weren’t that bad in the first half when falling 3-0 behind, nor were they especially brilliant in almost rescuing the game in the second. But both halves underlined a couple of key characteristics of Postecoglou’s Spurs.
Advertisement
On the positive side, this Tottenham team don’t give up. They have rescued 22 points from losing positions this season, bettered only by Liverpool and Manchester City.
They came close to improving on that number here, against a team with the meanest defence in the league who have dropped the third-fewest points from winning positions this season. To overhaul a 3-0 deficit would have been a phenomenal achievement — a testament to Postecoglou’s insistence his teams play the game, not the scoreboard.
On the flip side, the goals Spurs gave away illustrated two of their biggest weaknesses: conceding at set pieces and being vulnerable to counters.
With regards to the former, only four teams have conceded more set-piece goals (14), excluding penalties, than Tottenham. Spurs also have the third-worst expected goals against (xGA) from set pieces. Arsenal, like Everton in February, exploited this mercilessly. Mikel Arteta’s side were just as decisive in exposing Spurs’ struggles against quick counters for their second goal. A switch of play left Bukayo Saka one-on-one with Ben Davies and the ball was soon in the back of Spurs’s net for 2-0.
The concession of that goal was a big frustration to Postecoglou, who said after the game: “It’s the little details like you can’t give time and space to the opposition, you can’t make decisions or lose focus in any given moment. Even the transition goal we were focused on a decision at the other end when we should have been thinking about the danger that was potentially at the other side.”
It was hard to remember Postecoglou seeming more exasperated with his team’s performance than he was on Sunday. His visible pride after they drew the reverse fixture in September suddenly felt a long way away.
Where, then, does this leave Spurs?
For a season that has supposedly all been about progress and “growth”, it feels like they’ve gone backwards since that early-season blitz that included the 2-2 at the Emirates and had them top of the league after winning eight and drawing two of their first 10 games. That certainly is how the Ange-sceptics feel.
The counter is that, viewed in the round, this has been a positive season. One in which Spurs have overcome the loss of Harry Kane to still be in with a chance of finishing in the top four.
Everything stings a bit more when the issues you’ve seen all season play out against your most hated rivals. Especially when those rivals are trying to win the title.
The best teams are also extremely adept at punishing the kind of sloppiness Spurs have got away with in some games this season. Arsenal were ruthless on Sunday, but Tottenham gave them too much encouragement in the first half.
Postecoglou’s team selection also drew the ire of some supporters. Timo Werner was forced off with injury after half an hour, but had done little before then to justify his selection over Brennan Johnson. However, Dejan Kulusevski was recalled to the starting XI after three games on the bench and gave an enterprising performance that kept the Arsenal defenders guessing. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was also selected from the start for only the seventh time this season, and the first time in two months. He wasn’t especially bad, but his headline contribution was an own goal to open the scoring after 15 minutes.
Advertisement
Hojbjerg’s own goal was especially frustrating because Spurs had started the game well, pinning Arsenal back in a way they’re not accustomed to. “They force you (deeper),” Arteta said after the game when asked whether Arsenal had planned on sitting back so much in the first half. “We had an issue with the high press. They force you with their structure to be a bit deeper.”
Arsenal have rarely looked as flustered this season as they did for the first 20 minutes, and no opposition team has scored more against them in the league this season than Tottenham. And that’s what this Spurs attack can do to opposition defences. It’s part of the reason Postecoglou’s supporters enjoy watching the team, and why they’ve scored in all but two of their 33 league games.
So here we are, more or less where we were before the game — Spurs with some obvious strengths but some pretty obvious weaknesses too. It leaves Thursday’s trip to Chelsea feeling even more important. Not just in the context of the top-four race but principally because Tottenham need the boost of a big win to make the process feel more worthwhile in the short term.
While this wasn’t a game to shake the faith of the Postecoglou believers, it wasn’t one to help convince the sceptics either.
GO DEEPER
The Ange Postecoglou culture war is playing out just as we expected
Tottenham’s remaining fixtures: Chelsea (A) May 2; Liverpool (A) May 5; Burnley (H) May 11; Manchester City (H) May 14; Sheffield United (A) May 19.
(Top photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)