Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou has put pressure on himself but deserves total Spurs support

There are two ways of looking at Sunday's north London derby from a Tottenham perspective. Zoom out and take the bigger picture, and a 1-0 defeat was hardly a disaster for Spurs .

Ange Postecoglou 's side more than held their own against an Arsenal team who are years ahead of them in their development and, on another day, would have come away with a hard-earned point or even three. They played some eye-catching football and their work out of possession was often excellent.

Take the match in a narrower context, however, and it felt like a huge opportunity missed, and in frustrating and familiar circumstances.

There is never 'a good time' to play a side as robust as Mikel Arteta's Arsenal but Spurs might not get a better chance to beat their fiercest rivals for a long while.

Arsenal travelled up the Seven Sisters Road without the suspended Declan Rice and missing six senior players to injury , including captain Martin Odegaard and Rice's new competition in midfield, Mikel Merino.

Arteta named five teenagers on the bench and started with a midfield two of Thomas Partey and Jorginho - both experienced players but in their 30s, and short of athleticism and dynamism. Spurs, meanwhile, were nearly at full strength, with Yves Bissouma the only obvious absence from Postecoglou's best XI.

And yet, Tottenham's display was all too predictable, to the point where the atmosphere fell oddly flat as they pushed for an equaliser, even as they attacked the South Stand in pursuit of another trademark late comeback.

Spurs saw more of the ball (63.7 per cent possession) and had more than twice as many shots as Arsenal (15 to 7), but were undone by a set-piece goal, Gabriel Magalhaes heading home Bukayo Saka's corner in the 64th minute.

Postecoglou was afterwards left following a familiar script of his own, going on the defensive about his side's set-piece defending and pointing to their shortage of “belief and conviction” in the final third.

"I know, I know. For some reason people think I don't care about set-pieces and it's a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages," he said.

"I understand that. We work on them all the time... but it is what it is. It's my burden to carry mate and I'm happy to do that."

Postecoglou also insisted his side are still "progressing in many areas" while acknowledging that there are "always new challenges to overcome", but it is striking that Spurs keep falling short in the same ways.

In many respects, the derby defeat was similar to their 2-1 loss to Newcastle before the international break or the 1-1 draw at Leicester on the opening day.

For all their attractive build-up play, Spurs simply failed to carve out enough meaningful chances in front of goal, while they have conceded 18 times from set-pieces since the start of last season, including three of their last four goals against Arsenal.

There is a growing sense that if you can defend robustly against Spurs, they can comfortably be kept at arm's length and will always give up a big chance or two.

Arsenal defended their penalty area committedly but, for all their class, the visitors did not have to be anywhere near their best to win a third consecutive game at the home of their rivals for the first time since the 1980s.

A consistent theme of last season at Tottenham was how much weight should be put on the actual results, with Postecoglou consistently suggesting that he was far more interested in performance and signs of progress from his team.

For the head coach, there was no value in winning ugly as he attempted to radically transform Tottenham's style and culture.

It is striking that Spurs keep falling short in the same ways

Now we are into Postecoglou's second season, however, results plainly do matter, and Postecoglou was quick to remind a TV reporter after the game that he "always" wins something in year two. “I'll correct [what you] said: I don't usually win things. I always win things in my second year," he said, in a slightly tetchy exchange.

Perhaps Postecoglou's confidence will add pressure to the club's season but fans should be encouraged at having a manager who is happy to raise expectations, in stark contrast to his predecessor, Antonio Conte, who was constantly whining about being unable to compete.

But Sunday's result left Spurs eight points behind Manchester City and six shy of Arsenal already, and clearly they look unlikely to challenge for the Premier League, despite Postecoglou's suggestion in April that he expected to be a title challenger this term.

The domestic cups and Europa League remain realistic routes to silverware, however, so Spurs cannot afford another toothless or loose display at Championship side Coventry in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night. Another home defeat to Brentford next week would also leave Postecoglou under a degree of pressure.

The bottom line here is that rebuilds are always hard and if Spurs fans need an example of why Postecoglou and the players deserve their full support, they need only look at Arteta's Arsenal, who twice finished eighth during their own painful revolution.

While the big picture remains encouraging and exciting, though, in the immediate term Spurs could do with some results and clear signs of progress on the pitch.

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