Ange Postecoglou slammed Tottenham’s display against Arsenal as “not acceptable” and insists their poor recent form “needs to change”.
Spurs were second best throughout Wednesday night’s North London derby despite going ahead through Heung-Min Son’s goal, with Gabriel and Leandro Trossard’s goals sealing the victory for their bitter rivals.
In truth, the scoreline flattered the visitors, with Arsenal missing a number of chances and Spurs barely threatening to equalise in the second half – the closest opportunity coming late on when Pedro Porro struck the outside of the post.
“Not good enough, especially the first half which was way too passive. We allowed Arsenal to take control. I was disappointed with us with and without the ball, allowing them to dictate the tempo. Nowhere near good enough.
“That’s not who we are. That’s not how I set the team up to play. To be sitting in and allowing Arsenal to play just wasn’t good enough.”
It leaves Spurs in 13th after just one win – against bottom side Southampton – in nine Premier League games.
They will look to arrest their poor slump on Sunday when they travel to face Everton.
Postecoglou added: “There’s no magic cure. We need to work hard and go into battle on Sunday and turnaround our fortunes and our season.
Ange’s post-match reaction 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/O4sTtWyOra
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 15, 2025
“There are always reasons why things happen but the reality is our results and form in the league has been nowhere near good enough. That needs to change.
“We just didn’t play 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 way too passive. That’s not acceptable. Second half was a little better but it wasn’t enough.
“This can’t be accepted by anyone at the club, us losing so many games in a league season isn’t right.
“Yes we are asking big jobs but I hope the 18-year-olds [Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall] are hurting as much as anyone else in terms of not being able to deliver on a big day.”