“Psychologically and emotionally” it felt like more than just three points, Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta said.
Unfortunately for the Spurs, the same was true for them. It felt like this More than a 2-0 lossMore than the other two goals conceded at home, more than just another passive performance.
When the last north London derby at this stadium ended 3-0 to Spurs in May, it was written in these pages that Antonio Conte’s team showed “efficient game-management”, were calm under pressure and produced a performance. “Calm and clear thinking against adversaries who are totally agitated”.
This time, it was Spurs who collapsed in the face of a coherent strategy, joined-up thinking and a team over a club.
“That day was difficult – we learned some lessons,” Arteta added. “The team and the club are together.”
Again, it’s as difficult to draw a comparison as you might think How United Spurs are now. Maybe the Arsenal comparisons are unfair but these two clubs will always be inextricably linked – by geography, by culture, by hatred.
One game shouldn’t define where a club stands, but this derby was always going to act as a useful barometer for Conte’s Spurs. And what we saw was disappointingly predictable.
Antonio Conte cannot escape blame for Tottenham’s recent decline (Photo: Catherine Eville/Getty Images)
A very early bright start to the game was followed by a rapid regression: some terrible defending; A poorly accepted goal; A poor response to adversity and a 2-0 deficit at half-time. Then, surely like clockwork, there was a much improved second half in which Spurs’ pace, productivity and attacking threat were all very good. They have authored some scrappy, error-strewn performances with stirring late comebacks on several occasions this season – but not against a side of Arsenal’s caliber and confidence.
If Spurs’ clean-sheet wins Crystal Palace and Portsmouth In what felt like a potential turn or foundation to build on for the second half of the season, this performance showed it was built on quicksand. Conte did not agree.
“The performance, I’m not disappointed,” he said, explaining how his team started well and showed a “great response” in the second half, playing with intensity and creating chances. “We haven’t lost our heads,” he added before explaining Hugo Lloris As one of the best current goalkeepers in the world.
Hugo Lloris maintains Antonio Conte’s support despite costly error against Arsenal (Photo: Catherine Eville/Getty Images)
While Rome was burning, Conte said at least the sky wasn’t on fire.
Not everything he says means anything and there is definitely a case for staying positive and more importantly, publicly supporting your own players. But the optics of the team’s performance were terrible. If that’s a good performance, especially in the first half, then what’s so bad?
It can be said that Arsenal have improved a lot since May, given their league position. But have Spurs gone backwards? They need good players in certain positions, they need another forward who can score goals, they need a creative midfielder, they need a top-class right wing back, they need another commanding centre-back. But that was all true in May.
The difference between then and now is that the Spurs can no longer defend as a cohesive unit. It is not difficult to defeat them. And they can’t control the game, especially against good opponents. They have lost all four matches against teams above them in the table.
These are textbook Conte features. Minimum requirements, indeed. And without them, it’s hard to see what Spurs have left, apart from the odd 20-minute flurry of momentum when trying hard to mount a comeback late on.
Spurs have now conceded at least two goals in their last five home league games (1-2 vs. Newcastle1-2 vs Liverpool4-3 vs Leeds0-2 vs Aston Villa, 0-2 against Arsenal). Conte can rightly point to injuries as an excuse as to why his team does not attack with unity. But defense? We’re talking about size, discipline and being able to navigate the ball out of the back without looking like you’re asking for directions in a foreign language.
That’s on Conte. As he was chosen here Ryan Sessegnon Very experienced above Ivan Perisic. Sessegnon adds pace and stretches the game, but he doesn’t do Spurs much good when he flunks crosses. Perisic also provides enough threat from set pieces, one of Spurs’ biggest strengths this season. Sessegnon created Spurs’ only chance of the first half when he slipped the ball over Son Heung-min, but his surprise selection was a gamble that did not pay off.
In the face of Arsenal’s energy, there was no escape for Spurs. In the first 45 minutes in Arsenal’s half, none of their players could register an average position. It’s fine to drop deep if you’re defending with toughness and counter-attacking with venom, but Spurs were doing neither.
Compare that to the first half of a 3-0 win in May. Five Spurs players registered average positions in the Arsenal half. They attacked with speed, meaning, planning.
The difference in intensity, tactics, confidence and, frankly, goalkeeping between those two days was stark. And it was a reminder of how Spurs have regressed in the last few months.
They may get another reminder on Thursday when they face off Manchester City For the first time this season.
But if they do, it won’t hurt or resonate as much as it does.
(Top photo: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
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