It was once again another early exit for James Maddison as Tottenham were defeated 3-2 by Arsenal in Sunday's North London Derby. Trailing 3-0 at the break with the visitors netting all three of their goals far too easily from a Spurs perspective, Ange Postecoglou's men left themselves with a mountain to climb in what remained of the contest.

Having a lot of the ball and getting into some good areas of the pitch, Tottenham just couldn't make their possession count and Maddison unfortunately had no impact on proceedings at a time when his team needed him to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. The England international was virtually anonymous in his 64 minutes and he perhaps was fortunate to last that long on the pitch as he could have been hooked a lot earlier.

Such a pivotal player for Tottenham in the opening weeks of the season as they moved to the top of the Premier League table, the 27-year-old has looked a shadow of his former self since his return from injury. Chipping in with three goals and five assists in his first 11 Premier League games for the club, Maddison has only managed one goal and two assists in the 12 games since making his comeback in January's 3-2 win over Brentford.

In that period, the ex-Norwich City man has only managed the full 90 minutes on one occasion, with that coming in February's home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. Postecoglou has continued to start Maddison despite his drop in form but he may now have a decision to make over his summer signing ahead of Thursday evening's London derby clash with Chelsea.

Something that was perhaps unthinkable only a few months ago, a place on the substitutes' bench for the first time this season could possibly be key to revitalising the player in what remains of the season. Maddison may have been Tottenham's most creative force this term but he's not producing the level of form at present that is deserving of a starting place.

That in turn could open up the door for one of his teammates to take on his midfield role at Stamford Bridge. Dejan Kulusevski was one of Tottenham's best players on the day, producing a very good performance after his previous struggles of late that had resulted in him finding himself on the bench.

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Starting on the right flank and taking the game to Arsenal, the Swede looked to make things happen when he had the ball and he was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty moments before Bukayo Saka doubled Arsenal's lead. The final ball from the Swede is perhaps missing at times but the work rate was there and so was the defensive side of his game as he battled well and helped out Pedro Porro down Tottenham's right.

Following Maddison's substitution on 64 minutes as Richarlison entered the fray, Kulusevski moved into his preferred No.10 role as Brennan Johnson switched to the right and Son Heung-min to the left. Again, the Sweden star impressed playing in a more central position and he had a big say on Tottenham taking the game to Arsenal following Cristian Romero's goal and later Son's 87th-minute penalty.

Giovani Lo Celso entered the fray following Son's penalty, with the Argentine keen to do everything possible in very little time to force an equaliser. Extremely unfortunate to get a matter of minutes to his name once again with Maddison in his position way off his best at present, the North London Derby was maybe the perfect game for Lo Celso to to get a bit more playing time under his belt as he could have added some bite and a bit more creativity to midfield.

Given the player's insufficient playing time under Postecoglou of late, it's hard to see the 28-year-old coming in from the start against Chelsea on Thursday if Maddison is to drop out of the side. One thing for certain is that the talented midfielder does deserve a lot more minutes than are coming his way at present.

If there is to be a change involving Maddison at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening, Kulusevski demonstrated on Sunday afternoon that he should be in the driving seat to play in his preferred position if Postecoglou is to tinker with his team. Needing to somehow find a way to get Maddison back to the levels he previously displayed for Tottenham, an omission from the Spurs XI for the first time since his move to the club could be the answer.

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