Tottenham’s difficult start to the Premier League season has highlighted a problem that cannot be solved in the transfer market: the development of a winning mentality. After spending more than £300m ($406m) on eight new players, Tottenham have lost their opening two league matches, conceding five goals without scoring.
The Athletic’s assessment of the club’s predicament is that it resembles Arsenal’s position five years ago. Arsenal also invested heavily, suffered a damaging start and needed time before a new-look squad began to develop into a cohesive team.
“”Mentality cannot be bought in the transfer market.””
Tottenham’s latest setback was a 2-0 defeat by Newcastle, a match in which Roberto De Zerbi was more concerned by his team’s psychological response than by the tactical details. The club have finished 17th in the Premier League in each of the past two seasons and have lost 41 of their last 78 top-flight matches.
Since the beginning of last season, Tottenham have lost 11 home league games – the joint-worst record in the Premier League alongside relegated Wolves. Since January 2025, they have collected only 55 points from 59 league matches.
De Zerbi has repeatedly warned over the past fortnight that the squad must remove the poor habits that have become embedded within it. He has called for greater focus, a stronger attitude and an end to complacency.
Those weaknesses were exposed again after Anthony Elanga gave Newcastle the lead in the 62nd minute. Tottenham appeared to lose their fighting spirit, while frustration and low morale spread quickly through the side. De Zerbi’s first full season in charge has now begun with successive league defeats, following a 3-0 loss to Brentford.
“The team’s performance on the field was far from good enough,” De Zerbi told reporters after the match. “This was not the reaction I wanted to see. I made that clear to the players immediately after the game. When you set out to build a new system, it is bound to be difficult, with problems constantly cropping up. The key is how you solve those problems. The solution is not to hang your head but to fight back. We still had 20 minutes, and every chance to score one, two, or even three goals.”
Newcastle’s opening goal followed almost exactly the same pattern as an opportunity they created in the first minute. Nico Gonzalez passed towards the right, Amar Dedic headed the ball down and Elanga moved into position. On the first occasion, the Sweden international attempted to lift the ball over goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, but Archie Gray cleared for a corner.
When the same combination appeared again, Elanga went past his former team-mate Sandro Tonali before shooting with his left foot. His effort struck the post and went in. Tottenham had been warned by the earlier move but failed to prevent the repeat.
There had been some encouraging signs before the goal. Omar Marmoush, making his debut, regularly moved into deeper positions to receive possession and put pressure on Newcastle centre-backs Malik Ciao and Sven Botman. He also produced a reverse pass for Andy Robertson, carried the ball down the flank after the interval and nutmegged former Man City team-mate Gonzalez before seeing a shot brush the post.
Once Newcastle went ahead, however, Tottenham’s attacking threat faded. Mohammed Kudus, returning from a thigh muscle injury suffered in January, provided some energy after coming on, although his delivery from wide areas was inconsistent.
Tonali won a free-kick that Mats Weigl sent over the crossbar. Marmoush was left unmarked at the far post but shot directly at Lucas Hornicek, while Dominic Solanke’s stoppage-time effort was cleared off the line by Lewis Hall.
Tottenham were also distracted by a series of confrontations. Solanke showed his anger after a challenge from Botman, while team-mates had to hold back Pedro Porro during another incident. After the final whistle, Porro and Matheus Fernandes confronted Jacob Ramsey.
De Zerbi’s criticism of Tottenham’s response to conceding was therefore aimed at both their loss of competitive spirit and their emotional control. The side showed similar signs of losing discipline during the previous season, although falling behind does not have to lead to a complete collapse.
“Getting our mentality rightthat’s our biggest problem, our biggest challenge and our most central goal,” De Zerbi added.
The scale of the rebuilding task is considerable. Several long-serving players left during the summer and a large number of new signings arrived. Tottenham are also attempting to establish a new tactical system, while a number of players are still short of full match fitness.
Micky Van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur and Porro played limited roles during pre-season and are continuing to regain their physical condition and rhythm. Tonali and Fernandes were paired in midfield for the first time in a competitive match and still need to develop their understanding.
Savio impressed during his midweek debut but was rested as a precaution after experiencing muscle fatigue in training. Defensive partnerships also remain a work in progress because of the changes to the squad.
The extent of De Zerbi’s adjustments was evident in the five alterations he made to the starting XI after the Brentford defeat. Bergvall, Marcos Senesi and Conor Gallagher were moved to the bench, while some of the selection decisions were difficult to understand.
Porro, who played at right-back for Spain alongside Lamine Yamal during their European Championship triumph, was used much further forward as a winger, with Gray operating behind him. Fernandes had regularly dropped deep at West Ham to collect the ball from his centre-backs, but was deployed as an attacking number 10 against Newcastle.
Tonali’s previous roles at Newcastle had generally been as a right-sided number eight or a holding midfielder. Against Tottenham, the Italy international often drifted into space on the left in the first half and linked with Kinsky’s chipped passes. He made several strong runs through midfield, although he also surrendered possession once or twice when attempting to dribble under pressure.
A further source of uncertainty is the transfer window, which closes on Tuesday evening local time. De Zerbi has confirmed that Richarlison, Danso and Pape Sarr have all requested transfers. Richarlison started against Brentford, while Danso has been a significant rotation option during the past 18 months. Their uncertain futures are adding to the unease around the squad.
Tottenham may not welcome comparisons with Arsenal, but Arsenal’s 2021-22 season provides a recent example of how a major rebuild can develop. Arsenal lost their opening three matches without scoring, including a heavy defeat by Brentford, while Mikel Arteta faced the difficult task of integrating new players after substantial investment.
Arsenal eventually recovered to finish fifth, two points behind Antonio Conte’s Tottenham. Only Xhaka and Martinelli remained in the starting XI from the team that lost to Brentford when Arsenal beat Everton 5-1 at the end of that campaign.
That history may offer Tottenham some encouragement, but the immediate demand is clear. Before the new system can become established, De Zerbi’s side must show greater resilience when matches turn against them.
