Ange Postecoglou was surprised with what he saw from his players (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Just not acceptable’ was Ange Postecoglou’s assessment of Tottenham’s first-half performance against Arsenal and said their improvement after the break was the least they could do.
The Gunners left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a 3-2 win after a dramatic north London derby which was very much a game of two halves.
Mikel Arteta’s men raced into a 3-0 head in the first half before Spurs made things very interesting in the second stanza, but could not quite find an equaliser.
It was a spirited fightback but ultimately not enough and Postecoglou was left extremely disappointed by what his players produced early in the game.
‘It is disappointing,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘From our perspective, we allowed them way too easy access to our goal, they only got there three or four times and they scored three goals in the first half. It’s just not acceptable and we paid a price for it against a very good team.
‘We showed resilience and fought back, but we had to because there was no other choice. We couldn’t come out here in the second-half and not give our supporters at least a little bit of hope. We did that. But still very disappointing.
‘We are still not as resilient as we can be, particularly in a transition moment or a set-piece. We allow far too easy access to our goal. They’re a good side and they’re going to punish you if you don’t show that steel protecting your own goal and we didn’t today.’
Bukayo Saka scored Arsenal’s second of the match (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka admitted things got very sticky late on but was proud of his teammates for getting over the line.
‘The last 20 minutes wasn’t nice, but it was worth it!’ Saka told Sky Sports. ‘We know it is a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home. Momentum shifted their way, but I am proud of the boys – we managed to get the three points.
‘We needed to be calm and everything was frantic. We showed our level-heads at the end and I am proud of everyone, it was a nice moment – we know what it means to the fans.
‘It means everything and it is a massive win for us. We have three to go and we will give it everything.’
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