Tottenham vs Arsenal, Ange Postecoglou laments ‘disappointing day’ in press conference, video, highlights, football news

Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou made no attempt to hide his frustration after Spurs suffered a 3-2 loss to Arsenal in a North London Derby on Monday morning AEST.

The Gunners silenced the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a three-goal blast before halftime; Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s own goal put Arsenal ahead before Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz netted to leave the visitors in complete control.

Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min struck for Tottenham after the interval to set up a nervous finish, but the visitors clung on by their fingertips.

“It was a disappointing day for us,” Postecoglou told reporters in the post-match press conference.

“It was a big game, a big game for the club, for our fans. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted so obviously very disappointing.

“We wanted to win today for our supporters and for the club. We didn’t do that.”

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With fourth-placed Aston Villa seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham, Postecoglou’s side must win their two games in hand to have any chance of staying in the race for Champions League qualification.

Postecoglou was visibly frustrated with the costly mistakes, particularly while in defense, littered through the team’s second-consecutive defeat.

“I thought our general football was good, was decent,” he continued.

“We controlled the game for long periods for the most part, but we know that. We know we’re a team that can do that.

“It’s about now over the course of time getting from where we are to where we want to get to. To do that we’re still not absolutely laser focused on the details, the small things that get you from where we are to becoming a team that contends.

“You can’t give time and space to the opposition, you can’t make decisions or lose focus in any given moment.”

However, Postecoglou had nothing but praise for Romero, who put together an “outstanding” performance for Tottenham.

“I’ve just got to get some of what’s in him into some of the others,” Postecoglou said.

The Australian coach also vented about the VAR after Netherlands international Micky van de Ven was denied a crucial goal during the first half.

“Games are not refereed in the stadium any more,” Postecoglou said

“They are refereed somewhere else and no one will convince me otherwise. It’s not even re-refereed, it’s referred somewhere else. That’s why I don’t celebrate goals anymore. I wait for somebody down the road.

“I just don’t think referees in the stadium any more have that authority they used to make decisions. They just go, ‘You know what, I’ll just wait and see what the bloke down the road thinks’. It’s a shame, I don’t like it but it’s here to stay and I’ve got to accept it like everyone else.”

Tottenham will next face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Friday morning AEST.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

Arsenal 35 25 5 5 85 28 80

Man City 34 24 7 3 82 32 79

Liverpool 35 22 9 4 77 36 75

AstonVilla 35 20 7 8 73 52 67

Tottenham 33 18 6 9 67 52 60

To meUtd 34 16 6 12 52 51 54

Newcastle 34 16 5 13 74 55 fifty three

WestHam 35 13 10 12 56 65 49

Chelsea 33 13 9 11 63 59 48

Bournemouth 35 13 9 13 52 60 48

Wolves 35 13 7 15 48 55 46

Brighton 34 11 11 12 52 57 44

Fulham 35 12 7 16 51 55 43

Crystal Palace 35 10 10 15 45 57 40

Everton 35 12 8 15 37 48 36

Brentford 35 9 8 18 52 60 35

NottmForest 35 7 9 19 42 62 26

Luton 35 6 7 22 48 77 25

Burnley 35 5 9 21 38 70 24

SheffUtd 35 3 7 25 34 97 16 (relegated)