Lay off Big Ange! Unfortunate Arsenal defeat shouldn't detract from Postecoglou's incredible Tottenham transformation

That two of those goals came from set-pieces would have been particularly galling. First, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's botched clearance ended up flying past Guglielmo Vicario. Kai Havertz then rose high at the front post to make it 3-0, 11 minutes after Bukayo Saka had doubled the visitors' advantage by finishing off a counter-attack.

Set-pieces have become a spiralling issue for Tottenham, with only the bottom-four clubs and Aston Villa conceding more from dead-ball situations over the course of the Premier League campaign. It has been suggested to Postecoglou that hiring a specialist coach might improve things, but he firmly dismissed this notion back in March.

He doubled down on his position after the Arsenal game too, telling reporters: "If I thought fixing defensive set-pieces was the answer to us bridging the gap then I would put all of my time and effort into that. But that is not where we’re at."

This was not the only familiar problem that resurfaced during the Arsenal defeat either. Perhaps the most infamous aspect of Postecoglou's tactical approach is the ludicrously high line he encourages his defenders to adopt. It's key to how Spurs press and build up, but it is also their glass chin. If their opponent can get the ball forward quick enough in transition, Tottenham can be in big trouble, as Saka's goal showed.

That strike stemmed from Declan Rice, Saka and Havertz playing through Spurs' counter-press in their own box. This afforded the German with enough space to send Saka on his way, with the England international making light work of Ben Davies before placing the ball into the bottom corner. It's not the first time Spurs have conceded a goal of this ilk this season, and it almost certainly won't be the last either.

Yet, while the first 45 minutes of the derby did seem to further highlight the pitfalls of Postecoglou's high-risk philosophy, his side's three-goal deficit did not tell the entire story. With the Gunners 1-0 up, Cristian Romero simply had to equalise, but could only hammer a free header into the post. Shortly after, Micky van de Ven was denied an equaliser by the narrowest of offside decisions. Had Gabriel Magalhaes stuck his posterior out a few more centimetres, the goal would have been given.

The third sliding-doors moment came in the build-up to Saka's goal. A matter of seconds before the forward made the net bulge, Dejan Kulusevski went crashing to the floor in the Arsenal box. Replays were inconclusive, but it wouldn't have been a huge surprise to see Leandro Trossard penalised for seemingly clipping the Swede's heels.

Considering all of that, it's astounding that Spurs somehow conspired to find themselves trailing so heavily at the break.

Tottenham did at least restore some pride with their second-half display. Few scenes sum up the effectiveness of their madness more than centre-back Romero galloping up to press Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, forcing a mistake and making it 3-1 and they continued to patiently probe at the best defence in the Premier League in the half-hour of action that followed.

Few could argue they didn't deserve their second, with Son Heung-min showing nerves of steel to convert from the spot after Declan Rice recklessly kicked Davies in the penalty area, and the 80 percent possession they enjoyed after the goal speaks to their ability to pen teams in with their high defensive line. In the end, though, the equaliser would not come.

It's a result that clearly hurt Postecoglou, with the Spurs boss being particularly damning about his side's defending in his post-match press conference.

"It's about now over the course of time getting from where we are to where we want to get to," he reflected. "To do that, we're still not absolutely laser focused on the details, the small things that get you from where we are to become a team that contends. Credit to Arsenal, they're there now. They're a team that does deal with the details well and we don't."

And while Postecoglou was in no mood to praise himself or the team on Sunday evening, if we pull the lens back and look at Spurs' season as a whole, it's hard to be too critical of their efforts.

The ex-Celtic boss took over a club in crisis last summer, fresh off their lowest Premier League finish in 14 years. To compound matters, they then lost the best striker on the planet a few days before the campaign kicked off.

The fact that Postecoglou and Co remain in with a shot of securing Champions League football - they have two games in hand on fourth-placed Aston Villa, who they trail by seven points - while the manager has had to contend with a painful rebuild job is pretty incredible. Mikel Arteta certainly didn't manage to keep Arsenal this competitive during his first few years in the hot seat, with the Gunners missing out on Europe entirely in 2020 and 2021.

That Tottenham lost a string of first-teamers to injury over the festive and New Year's period only makes their points tally - already equal to what they managed last term with five games still to play - even more impressive.

It's not just the results that have been notable either. Under the club's two previous incumbents, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, the supporters' enthusiasm for the first team was joyfully sucked away, with both men prioritising results - which rarely came - over engaging football.

Postecoglou has ripped up that blueprint, a process that was immortalised after a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea back in November. During that London derby, Spurs' ranks were decimated by red cards to Romero and Destiny Udogie as well as injuries to James Maddison and Van de Ven.

In spite of this chaos ensuing, Tottenham refused to bend to conventional wisdom by showing even a shred of pragmatism. Their defence remained camped out in the Chelsea half and Son continued to manically press the Blues backline. Eventually, the visitors would make them pay, with a late hat-trick from the misfiring Nicolas Jackson securing all three points.

Speaking to the media after the game, Postecoglou was challenged on his novel approach and uttered that classic line: "It's just who we are, mate."

Those five words that best sum up Postecoglou's thoughts about football. No matter how much pressure is exerted in the media or in sections of the crowd, his approach is simply never going to waver.

Spurs would have known this when they handed him the job, of course, and even in the midst of this recent blip, they should not allow themselves to halt the speed of this footballing revolution which, for the most part, has got supporters feeling proud of their club again.

Last summer showed that Postecoglou and his staff know how to spend money, with Vicario, Van de Ven, Brennan Johnson and Maddison all proving excellent value for money so far. And if there's further resources available to invest, the Ange-ification of Tottenham's playing squad must continue.

A proper Udogie replacement will be a priority, with club stalwart Davies simply not capable of playing the way his manager wants, something which only became clearer on Sunday. Another dynamic wideman - in addition to the permanent signing of Timo Werner - would allow for more-regular rotation up front, though greater strength in depth across most positions would be welcomed, particularly if Spurs do somehow sneak into the top four.

With games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea to come, that doesn't feel especially likely, but barring a major collapse, a Europa League spot should be theirs. Considering the dire state the team seemed in just nine months ago, this has to go down as a terrific campaign.