Tottenham Hotspur fans were hoping for a big response in the North London derby but instead saw their side lose 3-2 at home to Arsenal.
Tottenham had more than a fortnight to stew over a 4-0 thrashing at Newcastle United and fans really wanted to see a reaction.
A North London derby against Arsenal was never going to be easy, but seemed like the ideal chance to come up with a big display.
The performance itself was an improvement on that Newcastle disaster but it ultimately ended the same way – in defeat.
Three first-half goals handed Arsenal the victory as Tottenham just couldn’t fight all the way back despite scoring twice in the second half.
Ange Postecoglou will understandably feel that this game could have gone very differently with Arsenal scoring from two set pieces and a counter attack.
Add in Cristian Romero hitting the woodwork and Micky van de Ven having a goal ruled out for offside and it just wasn’t going to be Tottenham’s day.
Ange Postecoglou on Tottenham focus
There were complaints about the build-up to Arsenal’s second goal.
As Dejan Kulusevski lactched onto the ball inside the penalty area, he appeared to be tripped by Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard.
Kulusevski tried to keep his balance rather than hitting the deck and that may have counted against him.
There was contact and whilst it would been a soft penalty, there have been worse spot kicks given this season.
Tottenham were appealing for a spot kick but saw Kai Havertz find Bukayo Saka with a long ball, and he curled past Guglielmo Vicario to make it 2-0.
Postecoglou has now told BBC Sport that he felt his players did something that just isn’t good enough.
Postecoglou feels that Tottenham players were too focused on the penalty shout and lost focus, something ‘you cannot do’ against teams like Arsenal.
The Spurs boss now wants his players to ‘feel the pain’ from Sunday’s defeat and come back stronger moving forward.
“It is about the details and how you are focused in every minute, whether that is in transition moments or set-pieces. Against the best you pay a heavy price for it – Arsenal were taking advantage of our lack of detail,” said Postecoglou.
“The goal Bukayo Saka scored we should have dealt with that better. We were focused on the decision at the other end. You cannot do that against top level opposition, we have to feel the pain and use it to hopefully grow,” he added.
READ MORE: A timeline of all Tottenham Hotspur captains in the Premier League era
Tottenham still have a long way to go
Some Tottenham fans understandably got pretty excited after a strong start to the season.
Postecoglou picked up early results whilst playing great football and brought a level of hope back to the club.
They honeymoon period is over though and whilst Tottenham fans remain behind Postecoglou, he does need to find some answers.
The main concern right now is how many goals Tottenham are conceding from set pieces.
Whether it’s the appointment of a specialist set piece coach or a new approach to defending dead balls, Tottenham have to improve.
Postecoglou wants Tottenham to focus on the details and that should include set pieces as Spurs are conceding too many goals in those situations right now.
Tottenham can also be open and vulnerable on counter attacks and the lack of open play threat against Arsenal will be a concern too.
We are still calm; Tottenham aren’t even a year into the Postecoglou project and he has only had two transfer windows so far.
Some smart additions this summer and more time to mould the team as Postecoglou wants it should stand Spurs in good stead – and will hopefully close the gap to Arsenal for next season.
READ MORE: All seven Ange Postecoglou player exits as Tottenham manager and where they are now