5 mistakes Tottenham made against Arsenal
Although everyone suggested a shift of power in North London, it was the Gunners who emerged victorious at the Emirates on Saturday, tactically outclassing Pochettino's much-hyped Tottenham.
Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez bagged the goals at the Emirates, and Mesut Ozil produced one of his better performances as Arsenal made sure Tottenham remain winless at The Emirates after 2010. Let's take a look at what went wrong for Spurs in the North London Derby:
Also read: EPL 2017/18: Arsenal vs Tottenham: 5 Talking Points
#5 Failure to counter Arsenal's pressure
While it is Pochettino who is infamous for his high-pressure style of play, the experienced Arsene Wenger successfully used the Argentine's biggest weapon against him.
Arsenal were chasing down and bullying Tottenham players from the very first minute. The high press was very obvious as Hugo Lloris and the back-three in front of him were not given a minutes peace in the first half.
The front three of Sanchez, Lacazette and somewhat surprisingly, Mesut Ozil, who does not usually showcase this kind of workrate, were constantly on the backs of the Tottenham defence, limiting their time and options on the ball and forced them to play long balls from the back which were collected more often then not by the Arsenal midfield or defence.
This led to Spurs losing possession in midfield and Arsenal keeping the ball for most of the first half. Arsenal really exploited Tottenham with their pressure and paired it with a very high defensive line which allowed them to control the flow of play, and keep the ball in the final third.
