Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a 1-0 defeat in the North London derby as a lack of conviction in the final third cost them again.
Spurs were underdone by another set-piece goal as Gabriel Magalhaes’ header in the second half proved decisive in the derby. This is now the Lilywhites’ worst start to a Premier League campaign in nine years.
While Arsenal produced another defensive masterclass, they were necessarily miles better than Tottenham, however, their application and desire to win was far greater.
Every time the hosts had the chance to break, they would be swamped by black shirts who showed an unrelenting desire to get back and defend; that just wasn’t the case from Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Postecoglou mentioned in the build-up to the North London derby that he wants his team to show the same level of desire to win each game. That sentiment should hold some element of truth, but your team must then back it up, especially against your biggest rivals and that just didn’t seem the case.

James Maddison and Pedro Porro far too friendly with Arsenal
James Maddison and Pedro Porro were both spotted being far too friendly with Tottenham’s bitter rival before and during the North London derby.
The England international could be seen embracing Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta during the match which is not something supporters want to see in a game that is fueled with so much passion.
Maddison spoke during the week about understanding what the fixture meant to the fans, so hugging and smiling with the opposition’s manager isn’t exactly how to back up such comments. Meanwhile, his performance against Arsenal was slammed by the media as he produced another lacklustre display.
Porro and Raya’s embrace before the North London derby
Porro was also pictured being way too friendly with the visitors goalkeeper and fellow countryman David Raya in the tunnel.
Being close with Raya is, of course, not an issue but there is a time and place for such behaviour and doing it just before a derby is most certainly not the time or place.
Postecoglou can say he treats each fixture the same, but he’s just leaving himself open to criticism when his team fail to show a certain level of understanding for playing Arsenal.
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