North London Derby Stalemate Leaves Tottenham Hotspur with Plenty Still to Prove
WHITE HART LANE, London — Tottenham Hotspur's players twice made their way down the tunnel with disappointment etched across their faces. The difference between their half- and full-time exits in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Saturday was three goals and an even more pronounced hue of disbelief.
Tottenham had invited Aaron Ramsey's 39th-minute opener in the respect their early pressure had not delivered a goal. Arsenal stemmed the urgent, early flow of the home side and made the most of their first real opening, the Welshman finishing with panache.
By the time this north London derby stalemate concluded, Mauricio Pochettino's men had seen a potentially triumphant turnaround agonisingly halted. Alexis Sanchez cancelled out Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane's goals—the latter becoming a specialist in these fixtures (see above)—and Tottenham's hopes of going first in the Premier League (until Leicester City's evening game concluded anyway) were dashed once again.
Unsurprisingly in that context, there was much more to like about Spurs here than in the off-colour midweek loss to West Ham United. But a potentially season-making week has come and gone with capital bragging rights unclaimed and plenty still to prove if they are to finish the campaign strongly.
Despite the disappointment of Alderweireld (above) and his team-mates—Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris particularly looked shattered as they left the pitch—the latest demonstration of Tottenham's fighting spirit is one positive they can definitely harness moving forward.
This draw made it 18 points they have now won from losing positions this season, per Squawka. The Premier League peers they edge in this statistic will not envy their going behind so often, but the continued resilience is certainly admirable.
There was no guarantee Spurs would find a way to up their game again after the Ramsey setback.
The momentum turning so suddenly in Arsenal's favour sent the Lilywhites stumbling into the interval. A quieter White Hart Lane nervously watched on as the ascendant Gunners began to poke holes through their team's defence.
Spurs' immediate post-interval work lacked quality—Christian Eriksen skied a shot and Kyle Walker overhit a cross—but the intent was encouraging, and they soon felt their way back to the level displayed in the opening 20 minutes. Francies Coquelin's sending off after 55 minutes was a help here, but the tackle that led to his second yellow card was forced by Kane's threatening charge down the left flank.
The middle period of the half surrounding Spurs' goals was as scintillating a spell as seen at the Lane all season. Their continuing to show guts bodes well.
As Alderweireld noted, there is a motivation about this team. It is a rare they do not look seriously competitive, striving to impose themselves and battling through more ungainly moments—the West Ham loss one of said rare examples.
Tiredness is a threat to this. The upcoming UEFA Europa League round-of-16 clashes with Borussia Dortmund will make it five straight weeks they have had midweek fixtures.
Pochettino framed his team's considerable efforts in a positive manner but had to admit "it’s true, the last few months we play a lot of games." He cited Alderweireld as one of those whose international commitments mean he barely has any time off (the next such "break" is coming up later in March).
The Spurs head coach agreed in his post-match press conference the result was a missed opportunity to strengthen their title challenge. "The way that we play, I think we deserved more."
Later he underlined the point: "For me today if we analyse the 90 minutes, I think one team was the best—[it] was Tottenham.
"But you know, it was a good game to improve. We are still very young."
Watching Pochettino during the first half, you would not have predicted he would end up interpreting Tottenham's performance as a good learning experience.
He was out of his seat in the moments before kick-off, as if sizing up his team. Few of the following 45 minutes passed by without him toeing the technical area line, urging his men forward or venting his frustration when they did not close down or win a loose ball.
In fairness, it likely serves partially as Pochettino's release valve for the tension. When it comes to publicly assessing his team, he is nearly always constructive.
Given the end result, the tone he struck was an appropriate one to take.
Even this deep into the season, there are areas Tottenham can look to work on. Improving production in the final third is one—both in open play and at set plays.
There was plenty of good in both categories against Arsenal.
After several earlier set-piece deliveries were cleared too comfortably, Spurs' second-half corner kicks helped put the visitors under pressure. One, of course, leading to Alderweireld's equaliser.
Kane's goal notably exemplified the determination and vision that underpins Spurs' best creative work. Dele Alli rescued the ball at the byline before the striker smartly and promptly dispatched it beyond the reach of David Ospina.
Ideally, however, Spurs could stand to more consistently capitalise on periods they are in control.
They did that in the second half. But that was only required as a result of already being a goal down after a similar exertion of intensity in the opening 20 minutes did not reap any rewards.
Chances are being created. Against Arsenal, 26 shots were taken with 11 on target. It was 34 and 15 respectively versus Swansea City the previous week, per BBC Sport.
The coalescing of better thought-out movement (a lack of which aided the Swans initially) and greater composure when picking out a pass or shot in opposition territory (just about everyone was guilty of rushing things here on Saturday) should go some way to helping Spurs dictate games more often instead of having to resort to commendable but energy-sapping rescue jobs.
Another collective area for improvement as Spurs head into the run-in will be in how they see out games.
Overall, they have done well here—be it in the desperate but well-judged defensive interventions that helped close out the nerve-wracking win at Manchester City in February or in more calm and controlled management of other recent victories over Fiorentina and Swansea City.
Pochettino disputed the suggestion losing the lead against Arsenal was to do with the youth of his team, arguing "it's not about maturity."
He continued: "I can give a lot of examples of big clubs with experienced players and they concede goals in the last minute. Today was that sometimes the opponent can create a good chance."
Whatever the reasoning, along with maximising chances, it ties into the need to avoid counterproductive situations—ones that drain energy and, more importantly, risk points being dropped.
Despite the disappointment of recording just one point from two London derbies in a week, Tottenham are in a strong position. Leicester are five points clear at the top, but the manner in which Spurs finish the season is essentially in their hands.
The Arsenal draw highlighted their strengths and other points where they can become stronger. Learn from these tough lessons and the frustration they caused, and there is a good possibility that come the final time they head down the White Hart Lane tunnel this season, it will be joy rather than disappointment that is felt.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Draft Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Fans React to Simpson Pick 😱")
.jpg?w=600 "Vet Wideout Landing Spots After Draft 📍")