Tottenham suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season at the hands of rivals Arsenal on Saturday. Ten-man Spurs were comfortably dispatched 3-1 by Mikel Arteta's side in the first North London Derby of the 2022/23 campaign.
Spurs saw their bitter rivals open up a four-point gap at the top of the Premier League table. The Lilywhites went into the half-time interval level after Harry Kane converted a penalty to cancel out Thomas Partey's early goal, but Arsenal ran out comfortable winners in the second half.
Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka were Arsenal's scorers after the break, and Emerson Royal was sent off in between those two goals for a reckless challenge to compile Spurs' misery. There have been plenty of question marks over Conte's tactical approach as the national media have reacted to Tottenham's derby day defeat.
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"There are many differences between Arsenal and Tottenham right now, but perhaps this feels the most basic of them. Do Tottenham genuinely look as though they’re having fun? Results have been good. There is a system, a method, a plan, a collective buy-in, five shouting Italians on the bench to enforce order. But with the possible exception of 20 lawless minutes against Leicester, there has been precious little joy to them.
"You might argue that this is the Antonio Conte way, and he has the medals to back it up. Tottenham finished above Arsenal last season playing a very similar kind of football, and may yet do it again. But which of these two clubs would you rather be supporting right now? Which side would you rather play in? Whose arm would you rather have draped around your shoulder in the warm aftermath of victory?"
"Against the so-called top six this term Conte has seen his side draw and lose. In their first major assignment at Chelsea earlier this term they were lucky to escape with a point, owing to a stoppage time equaliser. Chelsea dominated proceedings, much like Arsenal did at the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime.
"Now that may well be part of the plan: playing on the break by inviting teams onto you, which would make sense. But against the top teams, backing your defence to soak up the pressure before performing a sucker punch, will not always pay dividends. Rarely has a counter-attacking side won the league and that is worth remembering given Conte's desire to make Tottenham contenders once more."
"Antonio Conte faced up to his first league defeat of the season in the worst possible game, but also faced starker questions about his team – and even his approach. The Italian might point to a red card for Emerson Royal that he evidently felt was overly harsh, but the distinctive dynamic of the game had been set long before then.
"The one thing that can be said is that Arteta’s approach has so many more potential angles and avenues of attack than Conte’s. That is why it is ultimately better, as well as better to watch, even if it requires more coaching work to implement.
"All of the questions are now for Conte. Arsenal did much more than find solutions. They found some of their best football."
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