Ange Postecoglou has admitted he is to blame after Tottenham were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in the North London derby.
Spurs took the lead through Son Heung-min, but an own goal from Dominic Solanke and a strike from Leandro Trossard earned the Gunners an important victory as they cut Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table to four points.
However, it was Tottenham’s 11th Premier League defeat so far this season and the only teams to have lost more games than them are the current bottom three. In fact, Spurs are without a win in their last five league matches and Postecoglou branded their performance against Arsenal “not acceptable”.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Postecoglou said: “Nowhere near good enough, especially in the first half. We were too passive. We let Arsenal dictate the game. Second half was a little better, nowhere near good enough.
“Not acceptable. Ultimately the responsibility lies with me and how I prepare the players. I’m more interested in how we play and we were not anywhere near the levels today. [We will] go back to work and prepare for a tough game [at Everton on Sunday].
“Of course they hurt me [defeats]. Not acceptable. Too many losses this year. Too many games getting away from us. It needs to stop. No other way of looking at it. If you give up now, there’s no point. Right now we have a big game against Everton this weekend. That’s our focus.”
And Spurs captain Son also admitted they were “too passive” at the Emirates and said the players need to take responsibility for their form. He told TNT Sports: “This game means a lot to the club and fans.
“Conceding goals like this is more painful. The manager is right. We were too passive. We always want to press and play high up as possible. In the first half we were way too passive. Second half was a little better.
“The first half was not good enough. It’s up to the players as well. You have to listen to what we want to do. I think we were not disciplined enough. We have to do better in every aspect. When you look at table it’s not good enough.”
Former Tottenham star Aaron Lennon added: “One win in nine – it’s not good enough at all. This puts a lot of unrest in that [Tottenham] camp. If they weren’t in the Carabao Cup semi-finals there would be big problems.”
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