Mauricio Pochettino’s side appear to have gone stale, with last season’s lethargic performances creeping into the start of the current campaign

Every once in a while, a defeat such as Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 loss against Newcastle United last weekend can be excused; sometimes teams just have “one of those days”, where nothing goes your way and things just don’t click.

However, the Lilywhites’ defeat by Steve Bruce’s Magpies on home turf wasn’t just one of those days. It bore similarities to some turgid Spurs performances at the backend of 2018/19 where they lacked spark or excitement in their play, leading to some poor results which ultimately resulted in a fourth-place finish.

Pochettino’s troops were so abysmal at the end of the campaign that they have Arsenal’s collapse in the final weeks to thank for this year’s participation in the Champions League. While they were able to beat their North London rivals to fourth-place by just one point, it only papered over the cracks that are starting to appear in what the Argentine manager has built over the years at Spurs.

The indifferent showings that plagued last season’s Champions League finalists in the final weeks of the campaign weren’t happenings that appeared suddenly from nowhere; they’d been coming.

In eight of the final 13 games of the previous campaign, Spurs had lesser expected goals than their opponents, which revealed they weren’t really creating quality chances, but merely eking out victories.

One of those games was a 3-1 win over Leicester City at Wembley in which Pochettino’s men had expected goals of 1.21 to the Foxes’ 3.02. Similarly, they got home draws against Arsenal (1.77 to 3.46) and Everton (0.88 to 2.07) after being outscored in expected goals, and got what they deserved in defeats by Burnley (1.09 to 0.85), Southampton (2.08 to 1.27), Manchester City (2.06 to 1.20) and Bournemouth (2.23 to 0.71)

Given their struggles in attack, it was surprising that Pochettino didn’t attempt to give his frontline a fresh look this season, after making use of mostly the same faces in the last four years or thereabouts. While the club’s financial constraints are well documented, plumping for a Nicolas Pepe-like purchase instead of Tanguy Ndombele or Giovani Lo Celso might have given the attack a much-needed rejig as well as a kick up the backside.

Tottenham’s options in attack include Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura. All but one of the listed players has been at Spurs for four years, at least, and it’s no surprise they’ve looked unproductive in recent months considering a distinct lack of dynamism around them.

It’s quite the reverse for Arsenal, whose purchase of Pepe has given the three-time Premier League champions a new lease of life after recent years of malaise.

The former LOSC Lille forward has been embraced by Gooners since his record move to the capital, and the Ivory Coast international plugs a few holes in Unai Emery’s setup. Having gone over a year without a recognized winger in the side, the Ivorian has shown glimpses of what he can do early doors, and his presence gives Emery a different weapon for the campaign.

It’s that sort of maneuverability and wiggle room Pochettino probably wishes he had at Spurs, and one which could end up hurting their top-four hopes at the end of the season. There is a feeling that the Argentine has taken the Lilywhites as far as he can after five years in charge, and recent performances only enforce this sentiment.

The argument when defending the Spurs boss’ job in the last 12-24 months has been that getting a better striker, creator, versatile forward and goalscoring attacking midfielder than Kane, Eriksen, Son and Dele respectively would be tricky, as the quality in the market isn’t necessarily better than what they already have.

In Pepe, Pochettino would not only have acquired a quality player with the end product, but also one with a high ceiling, all other things being equal.

While the wideman hasn’t opened his account for the Gunners, he has shown he can trouble defences with his skill, unpredictability and direct running – as seen against Liverpool in gameweek three. Even though his finishing and one-footedness still needs a bit of work, he will improve with time as he adapts to a new league.

Arsenal’s summer business arguably made them favorites over Spurs for third spot before a ball was kicked this season, and even though both city rivals come into this one on the back of a defeat, the Gunners still have much more buzz around them, three gameweeks in.

In the grand scheme of things, Tottenham’s top four hopes may not be in immediate danger given Manchester United’s continued erratic outings and upredictable Chelsea’s soft underbelly, they’ve conceded seven goals in three outings this term.

However, this is a side-and a club-with specific, serious problems, and they currently lack the dynamism to blow the cobwebs away. An up-close encounter with Pepe could also highlight the Lilywhites’ plateauing, and perhaps demonstrate to them exactly the kind of difference-maker they ought to have invested in this summer.