Harry Kane's underappreciated Tottenham role that Ange Postecoglou has an alternative for

Tottenham's set-piece woes were once again a major talking point in Sunday's North London Derby defeat against Arsenal. Such a pivotal game for both teams as the end of the 2023/24 campaign edges ever closer, it was the Gunners who claimed all three points after racing into a 3-0 half-time lead.

All three goals were extremely poor ones to concede from a Tottenham perspective and self-inflicted, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's own goal and Kai Havertz's header both coming from corner kicks. It now means that Spurs have conceded 12 goals from set-pieces this season — the joint-sixth worst tally in the Premier League along with Manchester United.

That total does not include own goals, however. If they were included, Spurs would now be on 14 goals conceded as a result of Hojbjerg inadvertently heading the ball into his own net.

A big talking point going into the game anyway due to Arsenal's excellent record at set-pieces coupled with Tottenham conceding from a corner in their previous game at Newcastle United; their woes in that area of the pitch were well and truly highlighted to all watching on. football.london quizzed Ange Postecoglou in his post-match press conference about the number of goals they are conceding from set-pieces but the head coach stated that he has a lot more to fix than just that.

«Yeah, no because it's understanding where you are as a football team,» said the 58-year-old. «If I thought fixing defensive set pieces was the answer to us bridging the gap then I'd put all of my time and effort into that. But that's not where we're at.

»For us it's about, when I was focused on the details of, not just set pieces but a lot of moments in games where we don't sense that you give good opposition the time and the space