Ange Postecoglou has slammed his Tottenham team following their derby day defeat to Arsenal, calling their performance and recent form “unacceptable”.
Postecoglou's side barely threatened in a 2-1 defeatafter Pedro Porro hit the post from an impossible angle in stoppage time, the closest they came to an answer in the second half when they supposedly chased the game.
Spurs remain in 13th place with just one league win – against 20th-placed Southampton – since beating Manchester City in November, while Arsenal are eyeing the title. Postecoglou's side are just eight points above the relegation zone.
They next face Everton, who are themselves trying to avoid the relegation battle, on Sunday, live Sky Sports.
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Sky Sports News' Michael Dawson says Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou will be furious with the way his side conceded Arsenal's second goal in their 2-1 north London derby defeat
Asked to give his take on the performance, Postecoglou said: “Not good enough, especially the first half which was too passive. We let Arsenal take control. I was disappointed with us with and without the ball, letting them dictate the pace nowhere near enough good.
“It's not us. That's not how I set up the team to play. Sitting back and letting Arsenal play just wasn't good enough.
“There is no magic cure. We have to work hard and go into battle on Sunday and turn our fortunes and our season around. There are always reasons why things happen, but the reality is that our results and form in the league are nowhere near good enough. That needs to changes.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Arsenal v Tottenham in the Premier League
“We just didn't play close to 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 we were too passive tonight. That's not acceptable. The second half was a bit better but it wasn't enough.
“No one at the club can accept this, we're losing so many games in the league season it's not right. Yes, we're looking for big jobs, but I hope the 18-year-olds (Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall) will be hurt as much as anyone in terms of impossibility of delivery on the big day.”
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Sky Sports News' Gary Cotterill and Sam Blitz break down Arsenal's comeback win against Spurs in the north London derby.
Arteta praises 'intense' performance
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta speaking to TNT:
“The boys were outstanding. We played 120 minutes less than 72 hours, but the way we performed was exceptional.
“We made it difficult for ourselves, but the attitude was outstanding. The purpose and intensity were really good.
“We play every three days, so that's just the basis, now it's about the next day. We won today, great, but now it's about Aston Villa. My confidence comes from what I see every day, not just the results. Sometimes in football you don't get what you deserve.
“We can't feel sorry for ourselves. What we can control is the performance, and today they did it again.”
Leandro Trossard celebrates after giving Arsenal the lead
On the possibility of reinforcements in January, Arteta added: “Yes, for sure. We lost two big players with Gabi (Jesus) and Bukayo (Saka). We will try, we are actively looking. We lost two very important players. We will try, but let's see what we can get.”