Many thanks to Declan Mulcahy for his report:-

Sunday 15 September 2024, 2:00pm Premier League Tottenham Hotspur (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 1

Scorer:-
Gabriel 64

Tottenham Hotspur (4-3-3):
1 G Vicario; 23 Pedro Porro, 17 C Romero, 37 M van de Ven, 13 D Udogie; 21 D Kulusevski, 30 R Bentancur (29 P Sarr 68), 10 J Maddison (16 T Werner 80); 22 B Johnson (28 W Odobert 68), 19 D Solanke, 7 H-M Son (c)

Subs not used: 20 F Forster, 24 D Spence, 33 B Davies, 6 R Dragusin, 14 A Gray, 15 L Bergvall

Booked: Udogie (27 foul on Saka), Bentancur (32 delaying free kick after foul on Havertz), Vicario (38 aftermath of a confrontation between players from both sides), van de Ven (45+2 foul on Trossard), Kulusevski (45+2 foul on Jorginho)

Arsenal (4-3-3): Mikel Arteta
22 D Raya; 4 B White, 2 W Saliba, 6 Gabriel, 12 J Timber; 5 T Partey, 20 Jorginho (c), 11 G Martinelli (30 R Sterling 80); 7 B Saka (53 E Nwaneri 86), 29 K Havertz, 19 L Trossard (9 Gabriel Jesus 80)

Subs not used: 32 Neto, 15 J Kiwior, 76 A Heaven, 47 M Kacurri, 49 M Lewis-Skelly, 46 I Kabia

Booked: Saliba (15 delaying free kick after foul), Timber (35 foul on Porro), Jorginho (49 foul on Maddison)

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Attendance: 61,645

Referee:- Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referees:- Darren Cann, James Mainwaring
Fourth Official:- Robert Jones
VAR:- Stuart Attwell
Assistant VAR:- Constantine Hatzidakis

Spurs Miss an Opportunity to Beat Weakened Local Rivals

Arsenal came into this game missing two of their key midfielders. The captain, Martin Odegaard was injured and Declan Rice was suspended. This should have been an opportunity for Spurs to take advantage. A win was a possibility and a draw should have been achievable. Sadly neither happened and Spurs lost three consecutive home league games against Arsenal for the first time in 36 years (10 September 1988).

Ange Postecoglou made four changes from the team which lost to Newcastle United two weeks ago. Van de Ven, Solanke (both returning from injury) Bentancur and Johnson replaced Dragușin, Sarr, Bissouma (injured) and Odobert.

Mikel Arteta was forced to make two changes from the team which drew with Brighton before the break. Jorginho who wore the captain's armband and Martinelli replaced the injured Odegaard and the suspended Rice. Raheem Sterling was on the bench and made his debut for the club as a substitute. In recent seasons Arsenal have become a haven for players that Chelsea no longer seem to want. They have transformed Havertz who floundered at Chelsea into a very effective striker. Jorginho isn't always chosen but was entrusted with the captaincy today. It appears that Chelsea are covering most of Sterling's salary while he has an opportunity to succeed at Arsenal. Spurs also have a Chelsea cast-off in Werner though he came on loan from Leipzig.

Arsenal wore their away kit in a north London derby for the first time since March 1986.

Spurs had the better of the opening exchanges. Kulusevski had the first shot on target following a cutback, which was saved by Raya after five minutes. Raya then saved a dangerous cross and Kulusevski had a shot blocked.

Solanke's best chance came when he picked up the ball from an Arsenal misplaced pass. However he was slow to unleash his shot and it was blocked by an Arsenal defender.

Arsenal's first chance came when White set up Saka on the right. His cross went into the box but Porro eliminated the threat. Saka was on the end of another cross but Vicario made a diving save. Martinelli got behind the Spurs defenders and ran into the box but Vicario again came to the rescue.

At the other end Solanke challenged Raya for a high ball but the goalkeeper was able to push the ball away. Solanke had another chance when Maddison crossed from the left to the opposite side of the box. Unfortunately Solanke's angled header went across the box narrowly wide of the post.

Ten minutes before the break Timber made a break down the left. Porro attempted to stop him. Timber hit him fairly hard and kept going. The referee blew his whistle. Vicario confronted Timber and a minor melee occurred between players of both sides. Timber was booked for the foul. Vicario was booked either for confronting Timber or something he said to the referee. Porro needed treatment before he could resume.

Johnson had a couple of opportunities without effect just before the break.

In time added on two Spurs players Kulusevski and van de Ven were booked for fouls which happened with seconds of each other. The referee didn't stop play after the first foul and having blown the whistle after the second one booked both players simultaneously. It was an unusual situation. It meant that seven players had been booked in the first half which is a record for a Premier League game.

Presumably Spurs five bookings was a record for one team in the first half. Despite the number of bookings it wasn't an excessively physical encounter. Timber's foul was the only one which involved a heavy tackle. The rest were mainly due to the tensions of a derby game.

Neither manager made any changes at the interval.

Spurs had the first opportunity after the break when Maddison crossed from the right but Kulusevski's header was saved by Raya. He had another effort soon after but couldn't make it pay.

Arsenal had a couple of counter attacks, one stopped by a good tackle from Romero and the second as a result of a similar effort by van de Ven.

Around the hour mark Johnson ran into the Arsenal box. He should have set up Solanke but chose to shoot himself and the effort came to naught. Shortly after Gabriel blocked another shot from Johnson.

An Arsenal attack resulted in Udogie conceding a corner. Raya swung the ball in from the right. Gabriel rose unchallenged and headed the ball into the net. Spurs' set piece weakness had cost them a goal again against Arsenal. Like the goal scored by Vardy for Leicester in the first match, the opposing player had a free header.

Within minutes Postecoglou made his first substitutions with Sarr and Odobert replacing Bentancur and Johnson.

Spurs applied some pressure. Odobert got into the box but nothing came of it. Next it was Son's turn. He could have taken a shot but delayed and passed to Maddison by which time it was too late. Then Kulusevski crossed from the left but Solanke's effort was blocked. Overall Solanke's team mates didn't succeed in creating much in the way of opportunities for him today.

Postecoglou then replaced Maddison with Werner. The substitution probably said more about Maddison that Werner. Spurs could have made two more substitutions before the end of the match but didn't do so. Presumably Postecoglou didn't see any benefit to either Gray or Bergvall by introducing them and probably felt he was protecting them.

Spurs had a few more efforts before the end but it wasn't to be their day. Sarr tried his luck from outside the box but shot wide. A minute into time added on, Kulusevski found himself with the ball just to the right of the D. He unleashed one of his trademark curling shots towards the far post. The ball floated just over the bar with Raya beaten. It was the closest that Spurs came to scoring.

Ultimately this was a victory for a street-wise manager whose team want to win. They were missing key players and knew they needed to play gritty rather than pretty football. Spurs have dominated possession in all four league games this season. In three games they have spent a lot of time in the opponents' third of the pitch without creating good goalscoring opportunities. Other teams also sense that given time Spurs will concede goals.

Ange Postecoglou came to Spurs with a track record of success in smaller leagues and playing attractive football. His team continues to play attacking football. However after the outstanding run of ten league games at the beginning of last season his team has struggled to make the sort of impact which is necessary in the Premier League to qualify for Champions League football.

He insists only on a Plan A and there appears to be very little flexibility in how he sets his team up. There are recurring problems which seem to undermine the performance and the result.

The defending from set pieces is an example. Three of Arsenal's last four Premier League goals against Spurs have been from corners – only three of their previous 88 north London derby league goals had been from corners before this. Is this a coincidence? It doesn't appear to be. It is a manager who uses a set piece coach effectively against a manager who says he doesn't need a set piece coach.

Postecoglou has fine qualities including his communication skills and style of play. His tactics are not working well at the Premier League level. He needs to be more tactically flexible to move to the next level. If he continues in his present mode and the results don't improve, his position will come under pressure. Given his potential if he was more flexible, it would be a shame if his tenure ended early.

. Spurs record in recent London Derby League matches

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