Ange Postecoglou has shared what he told his Tottenham Hotspur players at half-time during today’s North London Derby.
Spurs headed into the break 3-0 down after an incredibly frustrating opening 45 minutes.
Tottenham were arguably the better side for large spells in the first half but their defending from set-pieces was exploited by Arsenal.
The Gunners were handed a lead inside 15 minutes as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed the ball past Guglielmo Vicario from a corner.
Micky van de Ven had the ball in the back of the net just 10 minutes later but it was ruled out by the VAR due to an offside.
In what was a cruel blow to Spurs, Arsenal netted just two minutes later through Bukayo Saka after Dekan Kulusevski had an appeal for a penalty turned down.
Things would get worse for Tottenham as Kai Havertz grabbed a third for Arsenal after more questionable defending from a corner.
What Postecoglou said to Tottenham’s players at half-time
Speaking to beIN SPORTS, Postecoglou reflected on a disappointing afternoon for Spurs. The Aussie was also asked what his message to his players was at the break.
“My main sort of message was we owed our fans something,” the Tottenham boss said. “We couldn’t go out in the second half and just accept our fate.
“We had to go out there and show some fight and some resilience, which I thought the lads did to be fair and they gave the supporters a bit of hope.”
Tottenham vs Arsenal stats
To Tottenham’s credit, they can take some pride in their performance in the second half today.
Spurs threatened to derail Arsenal’s title hopes by mounting an impressive comeback. Goals from Cristian Romero and Heung-min Son set up a nervy ending for the Gunners.
Unfortunately for Tottenham, they simply left themselves with too big of a mountain to climb in the end.
It was their defending that ultimately let them down on the day as the statistics from Sofascore reflect what was an encouraging display on the whole.
Indeed, Spurs had 62 per cent of the ball against a usually dominant Arsenal side.
Postecoglou’s men also managed 14 shots on goal and created 2.37 xG, while the Gunners managed nine attempts and 1.08 xG.
The Lilywhites created four big chances on the day in comparison to Arsenal’s three.
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