The manner of Nacer Chadli's opener in Saturday's north London derby will have brought an especially broad smile to the face of Mauricio Pochettino.
It must have felt like a vindication of Pochettino's core beliefs, worth far more than its mere impact. It came as a result of Christian Eriksen pressurising Mathieu Flamini, winning the ball in the final third and then finding Erik Lamela, who promptly fed Chadli to score. A very Pochettino-type goal.
"We need to improve but we need time. Arsene Wenger has been in charge 18 years. Me, just three months," was the post-match plea for patience from Pochettino, but those ten seconds alone offered evidence of progress. Patience is a two-way street in the Premier League, earned rather than gifted.
Importantly, Pochettino had spent much of the first half audibly remonstrating with Eriksen, encouraging him to harry and hassle Mikel Arteta in possession of the ball. The Dane had been rebuked for failing to close down the Spaniard on every occasion, with Emmanuel Adebayor also suitably reproached. The effectiveness of Pochettino's high-press style, utilised to such great effect at Southampton, depends on an all-for-one mentality within the squad - there is little room for passengers.
There is no secret to the Argentine's preferred intense pressing approach - sculpted under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa - which revolves around man-to-man or zonal marking in the opposition half when without the ball. As soon as possession is gained, the intention is to exploit the turnover of the ball by having a spare man in attack, overloading with attacking midfielders.
If there is one obvious early-season beneficiary of Pochettino's appointment at White Hart Lane it is Chadli, who has so often become that 'spare man' on the counter-attack. The Belgian has already scored four league goals, three more than he managed in 24 appearances last season - he looks reborn.
Whilst Chadli's improvement is clear, questions could be raised about Eriksen's place in Pochettino's system. Eriksen was the shining light amidst Tottenham frustration last season, the 22-year-old scoring seven league goals and registering eight assists - only seven Premier League players managed more.
However, under Tim Sherwood especially, Eriksen was given the freedom of a playmaker role, licence to affect the game through his dribbling and neat passing. "I'm not a player to defend or run around, I want the ball," the Dane admitted last season. Those are words to chill the spine of a Bielsa student.
Asked to alter his role, there is little doubt that Eriksen has found things initially tough. "It's been a hard pre-season,' he admitted, referring to his manager's demands on fitness. "It is pretty hard. The first few weeks there were times when we went to bed pretty early. Now of course you try to get used to it. There have been double sessions two times a week when we were training at 10am and then again at 4pm, so it's a long day."
Eriksen's influence on the pitch has also suffered, of that there is no doubt. He is yet to register an assist this season and, having created a chance every 47 minutes last season, has seen that rise to 60 minutes during this campaign. More startling still is that Eriksen has had just two shots from open play under Pochettino (one for every 238 minutes played) - last season, that figure stood at 99 minutes.
Not every statistic has reduced in number, however. Eriksen won just 19 tackles last season in the Premier League but, asked to carry out this hassling role, he has already won nine this season. The challenge against Flamini on Saturday was surely the most important, but his manager will hope that this becomes commonplace.
It would be easy for Eriksen to become disillusioned with this much-altered responsibility but, at just 22, it surely must be good for his development. Pochettino is not aiming to curb Eriksen's skillful assets entirely, merely mould him into the perfect attacking midfielder to lead this new Spurs. At Southampton, Adam Lallana was evidently that man.
It is a facet of modern football that even the most skilful players are expected to adjust and adapt to the style of their team, with Eden Hazard suffering a very public reminder of his obligations from Jose Mourinho last season. It is a lesson that Mesut Ozil is perhaps still learning at Woolwich.
For now at least, Eriksen the luxury playmaker must fall into line. His appetite for doing so may be key to Pochettino's potential to succeed where those before him have failed.
Sanchez18
pointed out: There is progress with Eriksen in that aspect. Last season he made only 19 tackles, and this season he already has 9. So yeah, he's learning. Yes, the pressing atm is hampering his attacking a bit, but it's all about a case of adaptability, which I'm sure he will.
