Tottenham: Angry Ange Postecoglou slams Spurs as 'nowhere near good enough' in Arsenal defeat
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Ange Postecoglou slammed Tottenham’s performance in the north London derby defeat by Arsenal as “unacceptable” and says he hopes his players are hurting. Arsenal came from behind to earn a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium and extend Spurs’ wretched run in the Premier League to just one win in nine matches since they beat Manchester City 4-0 in November.
Heung-min Son’s deflected strike gave the visitors the lead against the run of play but Dominic Solanke’s own goal – after Gabriel met Declan Rice's corner at the back post – levelled the match. Leandro Trossard arrowed home a fine strike just before the interval to move Arsenal to within four points of leaders Liverpool and leave Postecoglou seething at his players.
“Not good enough, especially the first half,” the Spurs head coach said of the performance. “Way too passive, allowed Arsenal to take control of the game. “Really disappointed with the way we, both with and without the ball, allowed them to dictate the tempo and paid a price for it. The second half was a little bit better but nowhere near good enough.".
Postecoglou felt Arsenal should not have been awarded a corner for their leveller after the ball went out of play via a touch from Trossard but refused to make excuses and was particulary frustrated at the way his side squandered possession ahead of the Belgian's winner.
"It wasn’t a corner. It’s how things are going for us at the moment," he said. "But that aside, we weren’t anywhere near the level we needed to be in that first half in such a big game. We have got to understand that what we can control is the first thing we need to focus on.
