Arsenal vs Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino springs a surprise as Spurs' formation switch pays off

Arsenal 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1: Visiting manager springs a major surprise by opting for 3-4-1-2 in the north London derby, but reaps the rewards with his side's best display for weeks

Kyle Walker, left, thrived in Tottenham's new formation (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Mauricio Pochettino sprung a major surprise at the Emirates, starting with a back three for just the second time in his Tottenham Hotspur tenure. Spurs played a 3-4-1-2 system, Pochettino’s response to five games since Spurs last scored a goal in open play.

While that run continued here, with Harry Kane’s equaliser coming from the penalty spot, this was Spurs’ best performance for weeks. They had more stability at the back and threat going forward than they have for some time, which Pochettino put down to his side’s tactical flexibility.

“In football, you need to be flexible to find a better way to play,” Pochettino said in his post-match press conference. “In the last month we've had some small problems, and we always need to adapt our system and game. Today we worked a lot to try and find a better solution in the offensive situations and areas.”

Spurs have not played with much width recently but the 3-4-1-2 allowed Danny Rose and Kyle Walker to push high and wide as wing-backs, which they did to good effect. With Heung-Min Son partnering Harry Kane up front, Spurs had more of a direct threat in the final third. Son and Kane combined effectively a few times and Spurs were far more dangerous than they have been with either just Son or Vincent Janssen up front recently.

“We tried to play thinking about the opposite goal, with our full-backs higher, and with more strikers, to try to win the game,” Pochettino explained. “We showed a strong performance and worked hard. The most important thing when the team shows that performance and the players know what they need to do in difference phases of the game, that always pleases us a lot.”

It was just the second time that Pochettino has played with a back three with Spurs, the first being a 2-1 win at Watford on 28 December 2015. That was done to counter Watford’s strike-force of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney, but this was more about causing problems for opposition. Rose and Walker were always on the front foot, and Rose nearly set up a goal for Kane in the second half.

Danny Rose grapples with Theo Walcott (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“When you have full-backs like ours, Danny Rose or Kyle Walker, they can play forward as offensive players. We tried to put them in a better position to try and play more like wing-backs. That was our idea, and then to play with two strikers. We worked hard preparing that game, and I'm happy and pleased with the way we played.”

Pochettino was very impressed with the performance of Mousa Dembele, who shook off an ankle injury sustained at Wembley on Wednesday evening. He anchored midfield alongside Victor Wanyama and also won the penalty from which Harry Kane equalised.

“Dembele is a genius,” Pochettino said of the Belgian midfielder. “He's a genius. He played only 20 minutes against Leverkusen and today he was one of the best.”