Ange Postecoglou did not like what he had seen in the first half of the North London Derby. Two players were hooked at half-time and there could be few arguments.

The only argument could have been that a number of other players could have been taken off too, such was the poor, passive nature of Spurs' first half showing in the defeat to Arsenal.

Tottenham had actually taken the lead, against the run of play, when Son Heung-min's deflected short from the edge of the box found the bottom corner.

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Spurs had ridden out a storm until that point, but the goal did not serve to get them going. Instead they went into the break 2-1 behind when Dominic Solanke inadvertently turned in a Gabriel Magalhaes header from a corner controversially awarded and then new signing Antonin Kinsky could not stop a Leandro Trossard strike across him.

The visitors had no foothold in the game whatsoever and the two players at the base of the midfield were in the firing line. Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr were both taken off at the interval, replaced by the more attacking James Maddison and Brennan Johnson.

Looking at the stats from the game it is clear to see why the duo were replaced. Bissouma was at fault for the second goal, dallying on the ball in the middle of the pitch and allowing Thomas Partey to rob him and start the attack from which Trossard scored.

That was one of only 19 touches from the Malian. He attempted 13 passes in the entirety of the first half and was successful with only 11 of them.

Sarr was worse. The Senegalese touched the ball just 13 times, attempting just nine passes, with seven of them reaching their intended target.

For your two defensive midfielders to try just 22 passes between them in the first half of a match is criminal and showed up the struggles Tottenham were having in the first half. Things improved after the break, but with Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski playing in more advanced roles, there was often nowhere for the defenders to turn to when trying to play out from the back.

Away at Arsenal in the North London Derby you would expect your midfielder to have more to do, not just in a defensive capacity, but in trying to get Spurs moving through the lines too. Neither Sarr nor Bissouma did that and that's why they were hooked and it's a key reason why Tottenham failed once again to get anything from a North London Derby clash.