Tottenham Hotspur were beaten by Arsenal in the North London derby as the gap between the two clubs continues to grow.
The defeat not only means that Spurs have made their worst start to a Premier League campaign in nine years but also that Arsenal have now won all of their last three visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Gabriel Magalhaes’ second-half goal proved to be the decisive moment in the derby as the Brazilian headed home with ease.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have now taken just four points from their first four matches, meanwhile, the Gunners are second with ten.
Rewind three years and Tottenham were the dominant side in North London. However, in just that short period of time, Arsenal have backed Mikel Arteta and have left the Lilywhites in the dust.
Josh Kroenke’s unwavering support for Arteta
The Kroenke ownership at Arsenal for the most part hasn’t been much appreciated by the club’s supporters or garnished a great deal of silverware. Similarly to ENIC and Daniel Levy at Tottenham, fans believed the owners were simply there for their own financial gain.
But change at the Emirates in the directors’ box started when the Kroenke’s took full control of the club in 2018. The process towards becoming an elite team on the pitch was then further accelerated following the appointment of Mikel Arteta.
In the Spaniard, the Gunners have found a manager who is both a top-level tactician and someone who understands the club. Despite his struggles in the early stages, Arsenal’s owners showed unwavering support for their coach and continued to give him the tools to succeed in N5.
They are now reaping the rewards of their trust, with Arteta having his Arsenal side set to compete for the Premier League title for a third successive season. But in N17, it is a very different story, with the aims for Tottenham and Postecoglou for the new campaign still very unclear.
Josh Kroenke shows Levy how to back your manager
Like with Arteta, Tottenham found a coach who both seemed to understand the club and who is a top tactician, with Pep Guardiola’s comments backing that up. But the telling difference has been in how either club have backed their coaches in the transfer window.
Elite clubs use the transfer window to build a team by signing individuals wanted by the manager and who fit their ethos of playing. Whereas, mediocre clubs will sign individuals based on what they can offer the club as an asset.
Just take a look at the contrast between Arsenal’s summer transfer window and Spurs’. Arsenal came up just short in the race for the title last season, with the key areas of central midfield and a left-back being identified as the positions they needed to strengthen.
Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino were signed with the Italian looking like the perfect Arteta left-back and Merino added some much-needed experience and quality to their midfielder. Both improve their line-up and their chances of finally catching Man City this season.
Postecogou’s progress plateauing
Meanwhile, across North London, at a vital juncture for the Postecoglou project and several key areas in the squad in need of fixing, the Spurs boss was given Dominic Solanke as his only ready-made starter. His other four signings were all teenagers.
Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Yang Min-hyeok all look like exciting prospects for the future but where is the desire to succeed this season? Where do these players fit into Postecoglou’s system to help end the club’s 15-year wait for silverware?
Tottenham fans were excited at the start of the Postecoglou era with a coach who played a fresh, attacking brand of football. But as the new season has come around and not enough being done in the transfer window, the progress under the Aussie coach has started to plateau.
In a decisive summer window, the 59-year-old wasn’t given the tools to take Tottenham any closer to success. When you stand still in elite football, the only way is down and once again the North London club are approaching an all too familiar stage of questioning another talented coach’s credentials.
Ultimately, Tottenham can change manager for the umpteenth time but nothing will change until Levy and ENIC follow the Kroenkes lead in striving for a team that succeeds on the pitch and not just as a business.
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