Spurs were not good enough against Arsenal - Nuno
Tottenham's performance when they were embarrassed and outrun by Arsenal included many moments that summarised the horror of how terrible they were in the north London derby.
It was better than, or worse. The shambolic seconds leading up to Arsenal's Bukayo Saca scoring a goal to make it 3-0, after just 34 minutes. This was the end of any chance of Spurs revival.
Harry Kane led a rare Spurs attack, before falling over the ball. Arsenal ran towards Hugo Lloris' goal, just as they had done so many times in the first 45 minutes.
To his credit Kane raced back to his penalty area to try to retrieve the latest Spurs first-half pratfall. He only missed two tackles on Saka who caused bedlam when he rolled home the finish.
That was it. It was over.
Spurs fans moved towards exits. It was unclear if they were going towards the Tube or just needed something to help them get over the shock at what they saw.
It was the lowest point in a lot of competition. This just raises the volume on Kane's debate and the direction Spurs are going under Nuno Espirito Sante.
Kane was determined, saving a shot by Aaron Ramsdale, and lifting a finish that was just wide after the break. He was also the first to salute the Spurs fans at its conclusion, although he was actually clapping in general direction of the hundreds of empty red seats.
Kane made it clear that he intended to spend the season somewhere else. Every day it doesn't go according to plan will attract attention in a way it wouldn't have done before speculation linked him to Manchester City.
Kane is a consummate professional, but Kane looks down on his luck and isn't at his best. There are also questions about whether Nuno is using him to his advantage.
England's captain, and for a long while, the Spurs "He’s one of our own” talisman, seemed to spend most the 3-0 home loss against Chelsea dropping too deep to make any impact. Here, he simply wasn't on the ball enough until too late. Arsenal were protecting their lead, and Spurs were finally getting up after that embarrassing opening period.
Kane played only 25 minutes, while Bryan Gil (21) and Dele Alli (24) had more. Alli was only there for 45 minutes, while Gil played 20 minutes as a replacement.
This season, he has not scored a Premier League goal. Kane might be forgiven for thinking about how many goals he could have scored if he had been at Manchester City.
It is clear that Nuno must find a way for Kane to be more involved at Spurs, however long he stays. This is vital to the season as well as to how Nuno's future unfolds.
Nuno Espirito Santato was in charge of his 400th match as a Spurs manager, including his 10th at Tottenham. He is however the first Spurs manager to lose more than four matches in his 10 opening fixtures since Glenn Hoddle in 2001.
Nuno was not on the Spurs chairman Daniel Levy's list of targets when Jose Mourinho was fired in mid-April. However, it is still unclear what the strategy was to dismiss his manager during the League Cup final week.
To win over many sceptics, Nuno had to make a quick, impressive start, regardless of his excellent work at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After beating Manchester City champions at home, he continued his winning streak with two more victories that saw Spurs fans snapping screenshots of a Premier League table showing them at the top and Arsenal at bottom.
Since then, the graphs have been moving in opposite directions with Spurs slumping and Arsenal surging. Nuno was named manager of the month in August. This is a curse that only lasts one game, but has left Spurs without confidence and conviction.
After the 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, which was a disappointing scoreline for Spurs, and the similar loss at home against Chelsea, this 3-1 loss was their third consecutive league loss. A manager who prides himself on being tough to beat and solid defensively isn't a good choice if he loses nine goals in three league matches.
To make matters worse, he will not be able to get more from this Spurs team.
All of this, however, is not possible to be left at Nuno's feet. It's far from the truth.
Spurs have been moving in this direction ever since Mauricio pochettino didn't receive the backing he needed after leading them to the 2019 Champions League final. They lost to Liverpool.
Mourinho was a Levy-led vanity project, which proved to be a costly failure. Nuno must somehow bring Spurs back to the level of Pochettino.
He won't do it if Spurs continue to offer the same shameful fare as they did for Arsenal for 45 minutes, even though a game plan that did not include a competitive midfield was not helpful.
After only a few minutes, the Spurs players appeared depressed and devoid self-belief in the face a furious Arsenal attack. Spurs failed to realize how brave the Gunners were, while Spurs cowered. They were strong, while Spurs were weak.
It looked as if Spurs were going to be the victims of an all-out hiding when Saka made it 3-1. They might have had to accept it as their only chance of escaping this awful day.
There are many questions.
Can Nuno make Kane the best? Kane will be looking at his future in January. How Nuno uses his main striker will determine the future of Nuno.
As Nuno and Spurs felt all the fury and derision of the few supporters still present at Emirates Stadium at the end of the match, August seemed far away.
