Tottenham Hotspur steadiness rebuild and expectations as North London Derby vs. Arsenal nears

Ange Postecoglou’s first season at Tottenham Hotspur was, merely put, complicatedly eventful. A dream begin because the Premier League’s final unbeaten crew was swiftly crushed as injuries and suspensions derailed their campaign, exposing some weaknesses that noticed them land in fifth place by season’s finish, overperforming on preseason expectations and underperforming on early season hype. Inconsistent because it was, it was additionally a job nicely achieved so far as rebuilding seasons go — Spurs realized what labored and what didn’t, in principle providing a transparent glimpse at what wanted to alter over the summer season to construct upon final season.

A number of brief months after capping off Postecoglou’s first season with a 3-0 win at Sheffield United, it looks like little has modified and with only one win to start out the 2024-25 marketing campaign, it looks like Spurs are in a peculiar spot.

Postecoglou will roll with a squad that resembles the one he had final season, and there are some benefits to this. Not solely will he benefit from continuity with a gaggle of gamers that really confirmed loads of promise final season, the Australian may boast that his crew is well-rested. Solely a handful of Spurs gamers performed a serious chunk of minutes on the summer season competitions — middle backs Cristan Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin, in addition to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

There is not any have to essentially conflate consistency with stagnation, both, largely as a result of Spurs really had been busy throughout a less-than-exciting summer season switch window. It’s simply that they made one, ready-to-use signing this summer season in Dominic Solanke, who scored 21 objectives for Bournemouth final season and has the potential to impress for the membership as soon as he recovers from a short-term damage. The vast majority of their summer season funds had been used on youngsters like 19-year-old winger Wilson Odobert and 18-year-old midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Archie Grey, all of whom have already made their Premier League debuts however really feel like picks for the longer term slightly than the current.

This isn’t inherently unfamiliar territory for Spurs, who’ve a historical past of betting on kids and did so efficiently throughout Mauricio Pochettino’s spectacular spell on the membership. Although summer season signings shouldn’t be thought-about the be-all and end-all of a crew’s ambition, the switch technique feels not identical to a guess on the longer term — it additionally looks like a guess that Postecoglou’s tweaks will likely be sufficient to maintain them aggressive now.

It’s too early within the 2024-25 season to truly recommend that could be a poor wager, particularly contemplating Postecoglou has already put within the laborious work of constructing a tactical basis that’s efficient at its greatest. Spurs play with a transparent, attack-minded id, the primary constructing block for any profitable crew. The issues that price them at occasions final season, although, have gotten of their method once more this season.

Regardless of rating inside the Premier League’s high 4 in most possession, passing and attacking classes to date, Spurs have only one win in three video games to start out the season. Postecoglou’s aspect have proven indicators of being wasteful to start out this season — they’d practically 70% of the ball of their 1-1 draw in opposition to Leicester Metropolis and 12 pictures however generated simply 1.18 anticipated objectives, and of their 2-1 loss to Newcastle United had 65% possession and 13 pictures however simply 1.26 anticipated objectives. They’ve struggled considerably to create significant probabilities regardless of their offensive prowess, which incorporates Maddison and Son Heung-min, who began final season in very sturdy kind.

Spurs’ early season failure to shut out video games goes hand-in-hand with a defensive culpability that could be a characteristic, not a bug of Postecoglou’s attack-first system. His most well-liked excessive line always leaves the crew vulnerable, one thing {that a} crew might overcome by some mixture of tactical adjustments or personnel. Postecoglou could should discover a repair quick contemplating the personnel he has may not be up for the duty — whereas the precise again line feels resolved, the midfield has been off to a rocky begin this season. The trio of Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr have but to impress, and this season might inform if that is both a short lived drawback or one that may require new additions. Tottenham’s strange deadline day deal involving Real Betis’ Johnny Cardoso could offer a solution, however the crew remains to be months away from making a choice on that entrance.

Sunday’s faceoff with Arsenal, in consequence, will function an all-important check-in on Tottenham’s distinctive guess on their current, particularly contemplating the less-than-ideal outcomes are not any cause to put in writing them off. They’re much greater than a plucky underdog in opposition to final season’s runners-up for the Premier League title, as their attacking potential demonstrates. Spurs could benefit from taking part in in opposition to a depleted Arsenal — Declan Rice is suspended for the sport, whereas captain Martin Odegaard might miss out with an ankle injury. A near-identical model of this 12 months’s Spurs crew additionally performed two aggressive video games in opposition to a high-flying rival final season, tying 2-2 at Emirates Stadium final September whereas dropping 3-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April.

The most recent version of the North London Derby, in consequence, is just not a foregone conclusion. Even because the underdogs, although, Spurs must show that they will get out of their very own method in opposition to a crew that is rightfully comfy in their very own pores and skin. The efficiency, extra so than the end result, may very well be a bellwether for what to anticipate this season from Spurs — and if there’s a dissonance between their future-focused summer season enterprise and the development of Postecoglou’s imaginative and prescient for competing within the current.