Angeball is rarely dull but as mood darkens, Tottenham need results, writes MATT BARLOW, this defeat will be a tough one to digest for Ange Postecoglou’s side

Tottenham legend Gary Mabbutt was on the pitch at half-time and spoke fondly of the North London derbies of yesteryear.

How you could never predict what would happen once the rivalry was put to the test. How each duel created its own identity.

This time, however, there was something eerily familiar. A frantic street brawl in designer slip-ons was decided in Arsenal’s favour with a set-piece punch.

Then they held their hand with an outstretched arm against the Spurs’ forehead and just left it there, unaffected by the swinging.

That will be hard to swallow for Ange Postecoglou and his team. After finishing 23 points behind their neighbours last season, they were hoping to find evidence of progress, but there was hardly any sign of it, even when the visitors lost their captain and two key midfielders.

After surviving an intense Tottenham opening, Arsenal looked solid. Stronger, more cohesive and better organised than the home team. All in all, more serious as a team.

Once they took the lead, it didn’t look like they would concede a goal as they protected their goalkeeper David Raya very well.

Dejan Kulusevski, who forced early saves, fired over once more in the dying seconds to secure the final goal.

The loudest cheers from the home crowd were for Cristian Romero, who ran dangerously at the back, and Micky van de Ven, who recovered tackles.

It’s all part of the Postecoglou atmosphere. It’s great fun and rarely dull, but it can be messy. And they’ll always be vulnerable on the counter-attack or in a set-piece against the best teams in the Premier League.

Normally they create chances but here chances were few and far between, there was no late wave of pressure kicking towards the South Stand.

The points were lost due to a goal from a corner, which sent shivers down my spine as I remember last season when this became a recurring theme.

Not because they don’t have a permanent coach on staff or because they don’t work hard on the training field. Rather because they don’t have enough air power.

Based on this and the four points from the previous three games, little has changed this season.

Dominic Solanke is new to the group and is quite good in the air, but apart from Romero and Van de Ven there are few players who can compete with Arsenal’s quartet of centre-backs, with Thomas Partey and Kai Havertz thrown in for good measure.

Romero was vaguely there at the time until Gabriel gave him a shove in the back, causing him to lose his balance and run away, then leapt to meet Bukayo Saka’s swerving cross with a firm header.

Tottenham called for a foul hopefully, but referee Jarren Gillett gave no help. It will be seen as poor defending by their best defender. Romero failed to engage one of Arsenal’s danger men and he knew it.

Complaining about a push or claiming that Jurrien Timber should have been sent off for going over the top on Pedro Porro in the first half when he tried to roll the ball away would miss the point. Spurs were second best.

Postecoglou made substitutions, but the pattern of the game hardly changed. Arsenal went at it more firmly. They took fewer risks and limited themselves to the occasional threatening counterattack.

It was a muscular performance. A classic of the ‘1-0 to Arsenal’ genre to warm the cockles of the pre-Wenger old guard on the red and white side of this divide. A performance delivered without Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard or new signing Mikel Merino and with five teenagers on the bench.

Arsenal came up with a plan and stuck to it. They settled into a 4-4-2 formation. Havertz and Leandro Trossard were the front two, but often there was no one up front as they were busy working their way back into midfield.

At times, wide men Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were the furthest forward. At times, all four were up, pressing and rushing. When they couldn’t force Spurs into mistakes when they got past Guglielmo Vicario, they dropped deep and absorbed pressure.

The full-backs neutralised the wingers and Jorginho and Partey controlled the areas where Kulusevski and James Maddison wanted to operate.

Kulusevski forced early saves and Solanke, the summer’s most expensive Premier League signing with a £65m fee from Bournemouth and back from injury, made a positive start.

He led the attacking line, disrupted both centre-backs and came close to a header in both halves but failed to get an effort on target from perhaps his best chance of the first half, which fell to him in the penalty area.

There were groans at the end with a few boos. Granted, they just don’t like getting beaten at home by Arsenal, but maybe something else is starting to gnaw. A disappointing start to this campaign follows a disappointing finish to the end.

Spurs have won five of their last 15 Premier League games, four of them against the bottom four last season and one this season at home to bottom side Everton, with Wednesday’s trip to Coventry a big one.

Last season’s Carabao Cup penalty defeat to a weakened Fulham side was the nadir of a brilliant start to the Postecoglou era.

Another weak cup exit, and then another London derby against Brentford on Saturday. The gloomy mood could grow even further.