Spurs should remain optimistic despite some complaints of unhappiness with the overall situation.
In another wild north London derby, Tottenham came dangerously close to pulling off another thrilling second-half comeback at home against Arsenal, losing 3-2 in the process. At the break, the visitors had already taken a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who headed into his own net, and Kai Havertz, who met Declan Rice’s ball, which revealed Spurs’ vulnerability in defending corners twice.
Between, Arsenal had all control at the half thanks to a brilliant breakaway goal from Bukayo Saka, but Spurs made a comeback in the second half. A tense finish was set up by Heung-min Son’s penalty when Ben Davies was caught by Rice, and Cristian Romero took advantage of David Raya’s gaffe to make it 3-1.
After losing on derby day, Arsenal will still be vying for the League title, which is a terrible thought for Spurs supporters (many of whom will be desperate to win this game against Manchester City next month). Meanwhile, Postecoglou’s team now trails Aston Villa by eight points in the race for fourth place, even though they have two games remaining. A spot in the Champions League for the following season seems like a more distant dream, especially because Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City still have five games remaining.
While every loss to Arsenal is heartbreaking, this one was particularly challenging to evaluate. Saka scored goals off of corners, but Spurs may not have done enough to create enough tension for the thrilling finish. Mikel Arteta’s team did not deserve to lead 3-0 at halftime. Spurs may have particular grievances because Michael Oliver, the referee, disregarded Dejan Kulusevski’s pleas for a penalty just before Saka’s goal, and Micky van de Ven’s equalizer at 1-0 was called back due to a slight offside.
In the end, Arsenal demonstrated the stark difference between themselves and their neighbors that afternoon by winning in a style befitting championship teams.
Heung-min Son’s penalty in the second half and Cristian Romero’s cool finish gave Spurs hope, though, as they managed to stay in the game and create a lot of tension for the league leaders. In the final stretch, Postecoglou will be hoping to capitalize on their impressive spirit and ability to push Arsenal close.
Arsenal preys on Spurs’ major vulnerabilities Even though Spurs were about to lose badly at halftime with Arsenal leading 3-0, the game had been quite evenly matched throughout. In addition to van de Ven’s goal being disallowed for an offside that everyone would have regarded as equal before VAR, Spurs had greater possession of the ball and several excellent opportunities, with Romero headed against the crossbar and Son missing the mark.
However, Arsenal was clinical and took advantage of Spurs’ two main vulnerabilities: halting transitions and defending corners. If Hojbjerg’s own goal had any element of poor luck, Havertz’s header to score Arsenal’s third was embarrassingly simple. Although Postecoglou has stated that he does not need to bring in a specialized set-piece coach (Arsenal already has one in Nicholas Jover), Spurs cannot expect to advance if they are unable to perform the fundamentals of the game. They also regularly leave themselves too vulnerable to counterattacks, and in this instance, Arteta should be commended for positioning his team to launch a devastating counterpunch that would lead to Saka’s goal.
Nevertheless, counterattack awareness and corner defense are just as important as other aspects of the game, and Spurs were punished for their shortcomings. Postecoglou is under increasing pressure ahead of Chelsea. Though it’s fair to state that there are some complaints from certain fan bases and possibly a developing split between the ange-nostics and ev-angelists (sorry), Postecoglou is not under pressure because the team’s overall outlook is still positive.
Though Spurs made a game of it and their performance in the second half should give them hope, losing the derby will only have made their frustrations worse. Spurs supporters need to remain composed and patient as the team goes through its growing pains. Ask Arteta, who finished seventh in each of his two seasons with Arsenal, rebuilding is never easy. However, Spurs’ next match is a massive derby against Chelsea, which also features a reunion with Mauricio Pochettino. If Spurs lose, it would put further pressure on Postecoglou and could tarnish the team’s reputation for the remainder of the season.
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