Spurs’ big problem exposed again … but Ange still refuses to accept obvious fix

What are your immediate feelings after a game like that?

Disappointing. It was a disappointing day for us. 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.

Can you see there’s more of a trend now with the amount of set piece goals being conceded this season?

Yeah, no because it’s understanding where you are as a football team. If I thought fixing defensive set pieces was the answer to us bridging the gap then I’d put all of my time and effort into that. But that’s not where we’re at. For us it’s about, when I was focused on the details of, not just set pieces but a lot of moments in games where we don’t sense that you give good opposition the time and the space to do things then they’re going to hurt you. I think they maybe had four attempts on goal in the first half and they conceded three. I don’t think it’s about one part of it, I think it’s a bigger, broader picture than that, but our defensive set pieces for those two were very poor. But there’s a lot more than that to fix.

What did you make of the performance overall?

Like I said, it’s disappointing. The outcome was disappointing. We wanted to win today for our supporters and for the club. We didn’t do that and whatever I think about the performance it’s still the outcome that sits on you. I thought our general football was good, was decent. 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 become a team that contends. Credit to Arsenal, they’re there now. They’re a team that does deal with the details well and we don’t.

What are those details?

Mate there are thousands. I’m not going to sit here but it’s the little details like you can’t give time and space to the opposition, you can’t make decisions or lose focus in any given moment. Even the transition goal we were focused on a decision at the other end when we should have been thinking about the danger that was potentially at the other side.

One positive was Cristian Romero, what did you make of his performance today?

Yeah, he was outstanding. He’s a World Cup winner and I’ve just got to get some of what’s in him into some of the others.

What did you make of the decision in the opposition box before that transition goal?

Micky van de Ven has explained what Ange Postecoglou said to the Tottenham players at half-time as the team trailed 3-0 to Arsenal on Sunday
Spurs controlled most of the first half of the North London Derby with 72% possession, but scored three goals for the visitors before scoring twice in the second half through Cristian Romero and captain Son Heung-min, but they couldn’t find a late goal
leveler
Van de Ven explained after the match what Postecoglou said to his players at half-time after they walked down the tunnel to boos from the crowd inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
“The first half wasn’t good enough
Arsenal sat back, but as they countered they were ruthless, they scored at almost every chance they got,” he declared
“I think our first half lacked that
What the coach said at half-time was to keep playing our way, you see, Arsenal, they’re sitting, the opportunities will come and we’ll see what happens will happen in the next inning, but keep trying, run as hard as you can and if you can’t run anymore, you run, we have to try and do got that in the second half and I think that’s what we did
The Dutchman added: “The first half was not good for us, 3
-0, that’s impossible
” happens in your stadium in a big game like this and I thought we played the second half very well, we asserted high and we controlled the game but in the end it wasn’t enough
” The 22-year-old centre-back thought he had equalized the 1-1 draw in the first half but his goal was ruled out for slight offside
The decision raises questions about what exactly can be considered is “intentionally” in the rules after two Arsenal players touched the ball, one of them moving his foot to block, before Van de Ven failed to send him home “Well, if it’s offside, that is offside,” the Spurs defender said
“We scored the equalizer and if it had been 1-1 it would have been a different game and it would have been VAR, it would have been offside and I think if it had been offside it would have been offside – the game and then two minutes they scored and it was 2-0 and we had Then, before half-time, they were 3-0 up, which was a big slap in the face The critics came from Tottenham because conceded two more goals from set-pieces, taking their tally for the season to 14 in such situations”
Van de Ven
said: “I don’t think in football we are worse than Arsenal
I wouldn’t say we have this problem
Their mentality is very strong but I wouldn’t say that either, but you can see their goals and they are ruthless, they take every opportunity they get and I think that makes the difference
“Of course, we cannot concede three goals in the first half if we want to be a strong team
It is true that we cannot concede three goals at home if we want to be a strong team and We have to work on it
” Spurs are now seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with two games remaining and Postecoglou’s side travel to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night for another derby with Chelsea
With five matches remaining, the task of securing Champions League qualification is a difficult one