With the north London rival looming, what exactly has gone wrong for tottering Tottenham?

A combination of factors are undermining Spurs for whom it is no win in six

Mauricio Pochettino said he was left 'embarrassed' by his side's defeat at Wembley on Wednesday night (Getty)

It was after 10.30 in the Wembley press conference suite on Wednesday night and Mauricio Pochettino was getting irritated by the length of time it was taking for each of his answers to be translated into German for the benefit of journalists following Bayer Leverkusen. He leant back, made a rolling gesture with his fingers to his press officer and rolled his eyes.

When he was first at Southampton, Pochettino used to have his answers translated from Spanish into English - so it was hardly a fair complaint.

On Wednesday the Spurs manager was fully answering all the questions that were being thrown at him and was admitting that his team had been inadequate in many areas. He was not deflecting blame or making excuses but his mood, understandably after a defeat to the German side that leaves his club’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League hanging by a thread, was far from jovial.

Exactly a month earlier, on the 2 October, it was all very different as the Tottenham coached basked in the glow of defeating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at White Hart Lane in the league, making Pochettino’s team the only unbeaten one in the Premier League. In that press conference, the smirk danced on his lips.

His team still are undefeated in the league, of course, and sit just three points off the top - but the glow has faded dramatically in only a month due to defeats in the EFL Cup at Liverpool, at Wembley to Leverkusen and league draws with Bournemouth, Leicester and West Brom. Dele Alli has lost his spark, Kyle Walker was woeful on Wednesday and Christian Eriksen fitful. Eric Dier was poor at the back and Mousa Dembele and VIctor Wanyama were sloppy on the ball.

With Arsenal, unbeaten in 15 games, to come on Sunday at The Emirates it may get worse before it gets better for Spurs who now have no victories in six since that win over City (although the North London derby has been hard to predict in recent seasons). So, why the wobble?

Coping with the Champions League

There is no doubt that juggling the Champions League and the Premier League is proving demanding for Tottenham’s players for the majority of whom this is their first season in European football’s elite competition. As Claudio Ranieri at Leicester has been eager to point out it is mentally draining preparing for two huge fixtures per week when it is not your norm and the only way to cope is through experience. It’s a tough playground and Spurs are getting bullied by the bigger kids at the moment. Bayer Leverkusen are regulars in the Champions League – they have been in the last three group stages - and knew how to control the game at Wembley. Pochettino admits this is a learning curve for his young team.

Eric Dier had a poor game against Leverkusen (Getty)

The international break

Pochettino has bemoaned the timing of the international break coming as it did after the City match - and there is no doubt that it derailed Spurs who had built up momentum. (Mind you, it doesn’t help any club that loses the majority of its players). Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the City match the Spurs manager was annoyed about the break but he can’t have imagined it would have such a damaging effect.

Injuries

Of course, Spurs miss Harry Kane. It’s a statement of the bleedin’ obvious. But as Roy Keane pointed out on Wednesday night, a big club – a Champions League club – copes with injuries and suspensions and Spurs simply aren’t coping without the man who scored 25 league goals last term. Vincent Janssen does not look the part – although the club are adamant he has what it takes. Tottenham take heart from the fact that at AZ Alkmaar last season he had no goals in his first nine games but then hit 29 in the next 31. Open the floodgates (he has not scored from open play yet) and the goals will flow. They like what they see in training where the feeling is he is already able to handle the physical nature of the league.

Injuries have also hit a key position for Pochettino where full-back Danny Rose struggled at the start of the season. He then picked up a knock on England duty after he played in both games – he was scheduled to play just one but stepped up when Ryan Bertrand was injured early on against Malta. On Wednesday he was rested again with the derby in mind. Full-back is a key position for Pochettino and his high-energy style and last season he successfully rotated (Rose and Kyle Walker played in the league, Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier in the Europa) so that the full-backs did not become too fatigued. Injuries have disrupted that plan this term.

Lady Luck

Spurs have been unlucky. Not that this masks their flaws but it has certainly been a contributory factor. On Wednesday they should have had a penalty when Dele Alli was tripped early in the second half with the match goalless. Eric Dier then hit the bar with his free-kick. Leverkusen’s goal came from a deflection that fell perfectly for Kevin Kampl. Against Leicester they twice hit the woodwork. But, as the saying goes, you make your own luck.

Tottenham and Wembley are not easy bedfellows so far (Getty)

The Wembley factor

Despite Pochettino’s protestations that Wembley should not be an inhibiting factor for his Tottenham side – “80,000 fans, the history, great stadium” as he said on Wednesday – something doesn’t fit for Spurs in the Champions League. The atmosphere is not as daunting as it can be at White Hart Lane where throw-in taking players are touching distance from fans. The bigger pitch – it is the size of two tennis courts larger than White Hart Lane – is stopping the team pressing as effectively as they did against City for example.

Also, the unfamiliarity must play a part. Although the Spurs players now know where to park their cars it is still not home. Arsene Wenger spoke recently about how it had been “a huge mistake” for Arsenal to play Champions League fixtures at Wembley in the late 1990s, when they won two of six across two seasons, and there is no doubt it is a motivating factor for visiting players who find themselves at the “home of football” and raise their efforts accordingly.

Plan B

When it is not working for Spurs they seem lost as to how to try a different way of playing. On Wednesday they started the match with two holding midfielders (Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele) and they actually looked more dangerous when Dembele went off and they were forced to switch to 4-1-4-1. The higher midfield line allowed a higher press. The improvement was fleeting it has to be said but does Pochettino – unless his hand is forced – know how to switch plans to mix it up if Plan A is faltering? The lack of recent goals – three in six matches – suggests not.