A new season and, according to Mauricio Pochettino, “a new chapter”, but the same old problems persist for Tottenham.

Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle followed an unconvincing win over Aston Villa and the fortuitous, VAR-assisted draw at Manchester City, continuing an alarming run of form stretching back to February. Spurs have taken 15 points from as many League games and lost 11 of their last 21 matches in all competitions, winning just seven.

The dreamlike run to the Champions League Final in June only helped to mask the team’s domestic short- comings, but their start to this season suggests more deep-rooted issues.

Harry Kane has said he may never be able to get over the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in Madrid and lingering disappointment from that match may partly explain Tottenham’s lack of urgency, creativity and cohesion as they struggled to break down another defensive opponent last weekend.

Faced with Steve Bruce’s well-organised unit, Spurs looked slack defensively and short of ideas in the final third — and the concern is that Newcastle have set a clear blueprint which other clubs will replicate against them.

Pochettino has repeatedly highlighted the destabilising effect on his squad of the European transfer window, which remains open until Monday, and Christian Eriksen’s situation is causing the most uncertainty. The Dane, who has entered the final year of his contract, wants a new challenge in Spain but there has been no serious interest from Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Eriksen has started one of the three matches — the draw at City — and Spurs missed him against Newcastle on a sweltering day when guile would have been more effective than the hard running of Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura.

Spurs need the Eriksen impasse resolved one way or another — either sell him and move forward with impressive signing Giovani Lo Celso, or keep him and play him — but, if no resolution is reached in the coming days, there is every chance it could continue to cast a cloud over their season, with foreign clubs able to discuss a free transfer with the playmaker from January.

In Pictures | Tottenham vs Newcastle | 25/08/2019 28 show all In Pictures | Tottenham vs Newcastle | 25/08/2019 1/28 AFP/Getty Images 2/28 REUTERS 3/28 AP 4/28 AP 5/28 Action Images via Reuters 6/28 Getty Images 7/28 Getty Images 8/28 EPA 9/28 Getty Images 10/28 AP 11/28 PA 12/28 Action Images via Reuters 13/28 AFP/Getty Images 14/28 AP 15/28 EPA 16/28 AP 17/28 Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 18/28 Getty Images 19/28 AP 20/28 PA 21/28 AP 22/28 Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 23/28 Getty Images 24/28 Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 25/28 Getty Images 26/28 REUTERS 27/28 REUTERS 28/28 AFP/Getty Images 1/28 AFP/Getty Images 2/28 REUTERS 3/28 AP 4/28 AP 5/28 Action Images via Reuters 6/28 Getty Images 7/28 Getty Images 8/28 EPA 9/28 Getty Images 10/28 AP 11/28 PA 12/28 Action Images via Reuters 13/28 AFP/Getty Images 14/28 AP 15/28 EPA 16/28 AP 17/28 Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 18/28 Getty Images 19/28 AP 20/28 PA 21/28 AP 22/28 Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 23/28 Getty Images 24/28 Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I 25/28 Getty Images 26/28 REUTERS 27/28 REUTERS 28/28 AFP/Getty Images

Jan Vertonghen, who watched on from the bench for the third consecutive match on Sunday, has also entered the final year of his contract but his absence is hard to fathom, particularly given that in-favour Toby Alderweireld is in the same situation and Davinson Sanchez is struggling. The Colombian was at fault for Joelinton’s winner and does not look comfortable in Vertonghen’s usual spot on the left side of central defence, next to Danny Rose, who has started the season poorly and is unhappy at being transfer-listed.

On the other flank, the decision to sell Kieran Trippier without signing a replacement is already biting, with Serge Aurier available to return to Europe before Monday and the inexperienced pair of Juan Foyth and Kyle Walker-Peters both expected to miss Sunday’s trip to Arsenal through injury.

Pochettino, usually a master at defusing tension, has seemed irritable since the start of the summer, while his team selections and tactics have felt off.

15 points from 15 11 defeats from Spurs’ last 21 games in all competitions (7 wins and 3 draws)

4 wins in their last 15 Premier League games... and only 15 points taken in that time

Depending on your outlook, the north London derby comes at the best of times or the worst of times for Spurs. Meetings with Arsenal typically render the form-book irrelevant, while promising to magnify the mood.

Win a League game at the Emirates for the first time since 2010 and Spurs’ troubling start to the season will be consigned to the past amid an outpouring of glee. Lose, and the sense of unease around the club could descend into full-blown gloom.