Ange Postecoglou after Arsenal defeat in north London derby: Spurs’ form is unacceptable, we have to change | Football news
Ange Postecoglou has slammed his Tottenham team following their derby defeat to Arsenal, calling their performance and recent form “unacceptable”.
Postecoglou’s side barely threatened in a 2-1 defeatand Pedro Porro hit the post from an impossible angle in stoppage time, which was the closest they got to an answer in the second half when they were supposedly chasing the game.
Spurs remain in 13th place with just one league win – against 20th-placed Southampton – since beating Manchester City in November, while Arsenal are eyeing the title. Postecoglou’s team is just eight points above the relegation zone.
They next face Everton, trying to avoid the relegation battle, on Sunday, live Sky Sports.
Asked to give his take on the performance, Postecoglou said: “Not good enough, especially the first half which was too passive. We let Arsenal take control. I was disappointed with us with and without the ball, letting them dictate the tempo nowhere near good enough.
“That’s not who we are. I didn’t set the team up to play like that. To sit back and let Arsenal play just wasn’t good enough.
“There’s no magic cure. We have to work hard and fight on Sunday and turn our fortunes around and our season around. There are always reasons why things happen but the reality is that our results and form in the league have not been anywhere near good enough. That needs to change .
“We just didn’t play anywhere near the identity of what I want us to be. We’re an aggressive team with and without the ball – we showed that against Liverpool, but tonight we were too passive. That’s not acceptable. The second half was a bit better but it wasn’t enough .
“No one at the club can accept this, it is not right to lose so many games in the league season. Yes, we are looking for big jobs, but I hope that the 18-year-olds [Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall] hurts just as much as anyone else in terms of not being able to deliver on the big day.”
Arteta praises ‘intense’ performance
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in an interview with TNT:
“The boys were outstanding. We played 120 minutes less than 72 hours before, but the way we played was exceptional.
“We made it difficult for ourselves, but the attitude was outstanding. The purpose and the intensity were really good.
“We play every three days so that’s just the foundation, now it’s about the next day. We won today, great, but now it’s about Aston Villa. My confidence comes from what I see every day, not just the results. Sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. What we can control is the performance, and they did it again today.”
On the possibility of reinforcements in January, Arteta added: “Yes, for sure. We lost two great players with Gabi [Jesus] and Bukayo [Saka]. We will try, we are actively looking. We lost two very important players. We will try, but let’s see what we can get.”
