Alan Alger's must-read column after the North London Derby 

Here's Gooner Fanzine print writer Alan's measured take on Arsenal's hugely disappointing 2-2 draw against Spurs

.........

Motivation and focus shouldn't be lacking in this fixture...

Fatigue from our midweek Champions League exploits is only an excuse that will get you so far against the realities of the poor performance in this derby.

There seemed to be a real lack of controlled effort from us at times and we often didn't match our opponents for work rate. Of course, "just run around a bit and try hard" has rightly long been consigned to the dustbin of motivational tactics at the top level of the game. But that's not to say you should completely disregard the valuable commodity of desire.

I've often said that Martin Odegaard doesn't strike me as the kind of ‘roll your sleeves up’ captain that I'd like to have leading the team out, having been spoiled by the likes of Adams and Vieira in my youth. The Norwegian had a bad game on Sunday and it just gives me another layer of fear to the fact that he has quite often been missing in big games.

His quality with the ball at his feet is right up there with the best, but we need to demand more from him, in the same way that he was urging the crowd on in the closing stages of the game. He certainly wasn't the only one, but if you want the responsibility of the armband then all of that stuff has to start with you. At other times a lack of focus and concentration cost us, with two big moments surrounding application, from players that should know better. Gabriel Jesus knows you shouldn't lean out of shots, as he missed a glorious chance to capitalise on Tottenham fumbling at the back.

As for Jorginho and his huge error for Tottenham's second. He should be anticipating that ball and deciding what to do as he receives it. Turning to offer the ball backwards was the least viable option he had - and a player of his experience shouldn't have chosen it.

2 - Two senior keepers cannot work...

Jamie Carragher's totally misplaced "Oscar's loser" comment about Aaron Ramsdale - as he clapped David Raya's excellent save from Brennan Johnson - made me think about the totally unworkable situation that Mikel Arteta seems to have put himself in with the goalkeeper position.

Having two senior goalkeepers in their mid-twenties cannot be an optimal strategy for several reasons. Exposing Ramsdale (or indeed Raya) to the kind of narrative that Carragher put forward with his comment doesn't help either party.

There was as much pressure on Ramsdale as his behaviour on the bench was scrutinised, as there was on Raya between the sticks. The incumbent will always feel they are one bad game away from being removed from the starting line-up. I think that kind of competition is beneficial for outfield positions, inspiring individuals to keep their place.

With goalkeepers it's completely different as each situation has more focus on the individual rather than the collective.

I can't recall one successful team that didn't have an established 'number one' and then a back-up that was either an up-and-coming youngster or someone at the end of their career and happy to take a backseat.

While Ramsdale has been a little erratic at times, he was a decent performer last year and no worse overall than Raya's mixed performance yesterday. Now they both have to keep up appearances as every single save (or indeed conceded goal) is overanalysed against the backdrop of the situation.

This is all on Arteta, a manager that has mostly got these kinds of things right in the past. His clear-out of the poor attitudes from the legacy of the 'Wenger years' was one of example of his educated personnel gambles that paid off.

Having two keepers at the tops of their games really doesn't look like one that will.

3 - Reminder of reasons to be cheerful…

It shouldn’t be all doom and gloom after a week where our return to the Champions League went off with a bang. We have the ability to control games as well as we did against PSV, but our start to the season has admittedly been a little disjointed.

One optimistic way of looking at that is how we’ve remained unbeaten in the league and in equivalent fixtures are only one away from last season’s points haul.

We’ve been unlucky with injuries and we have the opportunity for some second-string players to click in midweek against Brentford.

Our next league game against Bournemouth sees us face a side that give up lots of chances to their opponents. Something we need to be ready to take advantage of. It should be the perfect week to make amends.