Game, set (piece) and match: Ange’s Achilles heel exposed again

London: Who knows whether or not Albert Einstein really said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, but there is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur fans are being driven mad by their team making the same old mistakes.

Debate over head coach Ange Postecoglou’s refusal to hire a specialist set-piece coach will rage on after his Tottenham Hotspur team lost the north London derby from a corner that was headed into the net by Gabriel.

Arsenal’s Gabriel scores against Tottenham.Credit: AP

Postecoglou was ready for the question when it arrived following Sunday’s 1-0 defeat, insisting he does take set pieces seriously. But the evidence would suggest the issue is more significant than he is prepared to publicly admit.

“I know, I know, for some reason people think I don’t care about set pieces and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that,” said Postecoglou.

“Like I said, we work on them all the time like we do for every other team. You know that they’re (Arsenal) a threat. For the most part, we handled them really well, but we switched off for one and we paid a price, and you learn from that and you move on.

“But it is what it is, you know, it’s my burden to carry and I’m happy to do that. Like I’ve always said, for me, there’s a bigger picture that’s at play here that’s much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to. For us, the way forward is to try to turn the football we’re playing now into something meaningful.”

Ange Postecoglou on the sideline.Credit: Getty Images

It was only in May that Postecoglou was last quizzed on the preoccupation around Tottenham’s set-piece record, when he said: “I’m not interested. Never have been. Not in the least.” He added: “Eventually I will create a team that has success and it won’t be because of working on set-pieces.” Spurs fans are still waiting.

Once written off as an unnecessary luxury, set-piece coaches have become the must-have accessory for Premier League managers during the past couple of years and yet Postecoglou has preferred to ignore the trend.

That is despite the fact that Arsenal’s winning goal against Tottenham was their 42nd from set pieces since the club hired specialist Nicolas Jover from Manchester City - more than any team in Europe’s top five leagues.

Asked if Jover is the best in his field, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta replied: “In his field, in other fields, as a person. The relationship that we have, that’s why I made the decision to bring him to City when I was there and then to Arsenal. Him and the staff have injected a belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches. This is a really powerful one. It’s given us a lot, so a big compliment to all of them.”

‘It’s my burden to carry and I’m happy to do that’

Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham won one more corner (seven) than Arsenal, but never looked like scoring, while there was a nervous hush among the home fans each time the visitors lined up a delivery into the penalty area.

Corners were Tottenham’s Achilles heel under Postecoglou last season and the early evidence would suggest that they will be again. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario does not like coming for them and Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven do not like defending them.

Last season, Ben White put off Vicario by trying to undo his gloves before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed into his own net from a corner. This time, White took a step in front of the Spurs goalkeeper just as Gabriel subtly nudged Romero and headed Bukayo Saka’s delivery over the line.

As easy on the eye as Tottenham are under Postecoglou, they have now lost to Arsenal twice, Newcastle United twice, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City since April. In 2024, their only real victory of note so far came against Aston Villa, who qualified for the Champions League ahead of them.

Spurs have progressed under Postecoglou and it is far too early to start writing off their top-four chances. But if they are not careful, the Australian’s team will get cast as flat-track bullies who get picked off when the big boys come to town.

“We are a team that is progressing in many areas, with all that progress there are always new challenges and things you need to overcome,” said Postecoglou.

“When I look at the four games in isolation this year, the football is probably more consistent and compelling than our first four games last year, but, obviously, our results don’t reflect that. So I think we have made progress in certain areas but there are other areas we need to improve on and that’s my job to fill those gaps as quickly as possible.”

London Telegraph