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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
Ange Postecoglou said he hopes his Tottenham players are hurting after their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday and labelled the performance “unacceptable.”
Spurs took the lead against Arsenal in the 23rd minute thanks to a goal from Son Heung-Min.
But they went into the break 2-1 down, after Gabriel‘s header off a corner deflected in off Dominic Solanke for an own-goal, and Leandro Trossard scored what proved to be the winner in the 44th minute.
Postecoglou made two changes at the break, taking off Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma for James Maddison and Brennan Johnson, but it wasn’t enough to get Spurs back into the match.
The defeat leaves Tottenham 13th in the Premier League and post-match, Postecoglou did not hold back in his criticism of the performance.
“It was not good enough — especially the first half,” Postecoglou said. “[We were] Way too passive, we let Arsenal take control of the game. Really disappointed with the way we were without the ball, we allowed them to dictate the tempo and we paid the price.
“We just didn’t play anywhere near our identity. We are aggressive with and without the ball, but tonight in that first 45 we were too passive. That’s unacceptable.”
Postecoglou would not be drawn on a moment of controversy in the first half where Arsenal equalised off a corner that should’ve been given as a Tottenham goal kick.
“I don’t want to talk about referees, It’s how things are going at the moment,” he said. “We were nowhere near where we want to be.”
Despite Postecoglou seeing both his 18-year-old players Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall playing the full 90 minutes, the Australian coach didn’t want their performances to bring any silver lining to the defeat.
“I want them disappointed — this can’t be accepted by anybody in the club,” he said. “We are asking big jobs [of them] but I hope they’re hurting as much as anybody else in terms of us not being able to deliver.”