Tottenham Hotspur's guarded optimism in the heady early days of the Ange Postecoglou era was always going to be largely measured by whether it survived a visit to Arsenal intact.
Spurs have only won twice away to Arsenal in the Premier League's three decades, so this is a fixture that is approached with trepidation, even after the expert manner in which the charismatic Postecoglou has navigated the club through the departure of their great goalscoring talisman Harry Kane.
If not quite the acid test of their aspirations under the Australian, everyone connected with Spurs knew this visit into enemy territory would provide the sternest examination so far.