Arsenal's dominant set-piece prowess highlights Tottenham's glaring weakness once more - Premier League hits and misses

Change the content.

Arsenal's biggest strength remains a major Spurs weakness

It was probably fitting that the North London derby was decided by a set-piece. One of Arsenal's biggest strengths remains a perplexing weakness for Ange Postecoglou's Spurs.

Gabriel Magalhaes's header, powered home from inside the Spurs six-yard box from Bukayo Saka's inswinging delivery, was the 24th set-piece goal Arsenal have scored in the Premier League since the start of last season, the most by any side in the division.

From Spurs' perspective, it was the 16th set-piece goal they have conceded in the same timeframe. Even more damning is that, since the turn of the year, Postecoglou's side have conceded a staggering 13 times from corners - the second-highest total in the division.

The writing had been on the wall, with Arsenal causing repeated problems from corners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, even before Cristian Romero went to sleep and Gabriel rose highest to send his close-range header crashing into the net.

Following on from their 3-2 win in April, three of Arsenal's last four Premier League goals against Tottenham have been from corners. It is the same number of corner goals they scored in the previous 88 North London derbies, underlining the extent of the problem for Spurs - and the scale of Arsenal's dead-ball threat.
Nick Wright

Patience not infinite for Ange at Spurs

Ange Postecoglou bemoaned Tottenham's lack of resilience and failure to attend to "the details" after their 3-2 loss to Arsenal in the last meeting between the two sides in April. The latest defeat shows lessons were not learned.

While Arsenal again exhibited a wily, streetwise edge, adapting their approach without key personnel in the interests of winning, Spurs were beset by familiar problems: a failure to take their chances and an inability to effectively defend set-pieces.

Postecoglou insisted Spurs generally dealt well with Arsenal's dead-ball deliveries in his post-match press conference. But the corner headed home by Gabriel was not the first from which they demonstrated defensive unease. Arteta's comments to spoke volumes. "We knew we could hurt them on set-plays," he said.

Postecoglou took responsibility afterwards, insisting the side's set-piece frailty is his "burden to carry" and again arguing that their performances this season merit better results. But their total of four points after four games is their lowest since the 2015/16 campaign and the issues go back further.

Their outstanding start to last season, when they took 26 points from 10 Premier League games and the future under their new head coach brimmed with possibility, now feels like a distant memory.

Postecoglou may be right about their performances meriting more but there is no hiding from the reality. Spurs have only taken 44 points from their last 32 Premier League fixtures. He cannot rely on infinite patience from supporters.
Nick Wright