Tottenham have lost their opening two Premier League matches, prompting The Athletic to draw parallels with Arsenal five years ago, when financial investment could not purchase the winning mentality the team desperately needed.

The report states: "Mentality cannot be purchased on the transfer market."

Roberto De Zerbi, in his analysis of Tottenham's 0-2 defeat to Newcastle United, did not dwell on tactical strengths or weaknesses. This summer, Tottenham spent over £300 million ($406 million) on eight new signings, but the psychological damage accumulated over recent years will take far longer to heal than anyone anticipated.

Tottenham finished 17th in the league for two consecutive seasons, losing 41 of their last 78 matches. Since the start of last season, they have suffered 11 home defeats — a dire record matched only by relegated Wolves as the worst in the Premier League. Since January 2025, Tottenham have accumulated just 55 points from 59 league matches.

Over the past two weeks, De Zerbi has repeatedly emphasized the need to break the ingrained bad habits that have permeated the entire Tottenham squad, stressing that players must adopt the right mentality and eliminate complacency on the pitch. When Anthony Elanga opened the scoring for Newcastle, Tottenham "lost their fighting spirit," and the players' morale on the pitch quickly deteriorated, revealing these deeply rooted bad habits. De Zerbi's first season as head coach has begun with two consecutive defeats, conceding five goals in the Premier League while scoring none—a poor start that raises questions about the team's prospects for improvement.

"Our performance on the pitch was not good enough," De Zerbi told reporters after the match. "That's not the reaction I want to see. I made that clear to the players immediately after the game. When you start building a new system, there will certainly be difficulties, with problems constantly arising. What matters is how you respond to those problems. The solution is not to give up, but to fight back. We still had 20 minutes—plenty of time to score one, even two or three goals."

Newcastle's goal was almost a carbon copy of an attacking opportunity created in the opening minute. The two attacking patterns were identical: Nico González delivered to the right wing, and right-back Amar Dedić headed down for Elanga. On the first occasion, the Swedish forward chipped the ball over Antonín Kinsky, but Archie Gray cleared it, leading to a corner kick.

On the second occasion, Elanga beat former Manchester City teammate Sandro Tonali and fired a left-footed shot that struck the post and went in. This attacking pattern should have been anticipated by Tottenham's players and coaching staff.

Before Elanga's 62nd-minute goal, Tottenham's performance was better than their 0-3 defeat to Brentford. Debutant Omar Marmoush repeatedly dropped deep to receive the ball, directly challenging Newcastle's centre-backs Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman, while also playing an intelligent through ball for Andy Robertson. In the second half, he collected the ball on the wing, nutmegged former Manchester City colleague González, and his shot clipped the post. However, once Newcastle took the lead, Tottenham's attack was completely silenced.

Substitute Mohamed Kudus, returning from a thigh injury in January, briefly offered hope of an attacking spark for Tottenham, but his crossing quality was poor. Tonali won a free kick, which Matisse Tel's header sailed over the crossbar. Marmoush, unmarked at the far post, fired straight at Lukáš Horníček; late in the match, Dominic Solanke's shot was blocked on the goal line by Lewis Hall.

However, constant confrontations on the pitch left the team distracted. Solanke was clearly frustrated by Botman's blocking, and Pedro Porro had to be pulled away by teammates to avoid a confrontation. After the final whistle, Porro and Matheus Fernandes clashed with Jacob Ramsey. De Zerbi's comments about the poor reaction to conceding one goal referenced both the loss of fighting spirit and the players' emotional instability. Last season, the team frequently saw players lose composure, but adversity need not lead to complete collapse.

"Getting the right mentality—that's our biggest problem, our biggest challenge, and our core objective," De Zerbi added.

This summer, Tottenham underwent a major squad overhaul, with many veteran players departing and numerous new signings arriving. A new tactical system will take time to establish, and the players still need time to gel. Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Porro had limited pre-season minutes, and their fitness levels and match rhythm have not yet fully adjusted as they continue to regain match sharpness.

Tonali and Fernandes played midfield together for the first time in an official match and still need to find their rhythm. Savinho made an impressive debut midweek but suffered muscle fatigue in training. To protect the player, he was unavailable for this match.

With so many new signings, the defence still needs to build understanding. The extent of squad changes is evident from De Zerbi's five starting lineup changes after the Brentford match: Bergvall, Marcos Senesi, and Conor Gallagher were dropped to the bench, and some selections appeared questionable.

Porro, who won the World Cup with Spain playing right-back with Lamine Yamal ahead of him, was deployed significantly further forward as a right-wing midfielder, positioned in front of Gray. Fernandes, who excelled at West Ham by frequently dropping deep to receive from centre-backs, was tasked with playing as a number ten attacking midfielder in this match.

During his time at Newcastle, Tonali could play as a right-sided number eight or defensive midfielder. The Italian international frequently drifted into the left-wing spaces during the first half, receiving passes from Kinsky. Tonali produced some impressive passing moves through the midfield, but also had one or two losses of possession when dribbling under pressure.

As the transfer window closed on Tuesday evening, several players remained in uncertain situations. De Zerbi revealed that Richarlison, Danso, and Pape Sarr all submitted transfer requests. Richarlison started against Brentford, and Danso has been an important squad player over the past 18 months. This unsettled atmosphere within the squad will also affect other teammates.

Tottenham's current situation bears a subtle parallel to Arsenal's 2021-22 season, which may offer fans some encouragement.

That Arsenal side also suffered a heavy defeat to Brentford in their opening match, beginning the season with three consecutive losses without scoring a single goal. Like De Zerbi now, Arteta faced considerable challenges integrating new signings after heavy investment. Arsenal gradually regained form and eventually finished fifth, just two points behind Tottenham, who were managed by Conte at the time.

In Arsenal's heavy defeat to Brentford that season, only Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli remained from their starting lineup to their 5-1 victory over Everton at the end of the season.

Tottenham fans may not welcome Arsenal as a reference point, but Arsenal offers a recent example: a club that invested heavily, endured painful setbacks, and ultimately built a cohesive team. However, in the short term, Tottenham must improve their resilience to cope with the mounting difficulties ahead.

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