Soccer Football - Premier League - Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - January 15, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta before the match REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
LONDON (Reuters) - Ange Postecoglou described Tottenham Hotspur's dismal Premier League campaign as unacceptable after they slumped to a lame 2-1 defeat at north London rivals Arsenal on Wednesday.
Son Heung-min gave Tottenham a 25th-minute lead against the run of play but in the end the scoreline flattered Postecoglou's side who have now won only once in nine league games.
Tottenham sit 13th in the table on 24 points and are now far closer to the relegation zone than the top four where they had hoped to be challenging in Postecoglou's second season.
While they have reached the League Cup semi-final and won the first leg 1-0 against Liverpool, they have lost 11 league games this season. Injuries have been a factor, but Postecoglou made no attempt to sugar-coat the current predicament which is inevitably raising questions about his future.
"Not good enough, especially the first half. We just were way too passive. We allowed Arsenal to take control of the game and dictate the tempo and paid the price," Postecoglou told reporters. "That's just not who we are.
"It's not the way I set the team up. It's not the way I want to play, to be sitting in there and allowing Arsenal to play. The tempo just wasn't good enough."
Postecoglou's team offered little against Arsenal who led by halftime with a Dominic Solanke own goal and Leandro Trossard's left-footed drive -- both goals not making happy viewing for Tottenham's new keeper Antonin Kinsky.
The former Celtic manager said there was no "magic cure" and called on his players to battle to turn around their league form, starting away at struggling Everton at the weekend.
Lose that and the north Londoners could even start looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
"I want them (the players) disappointed. This can't be accepted by anyone at the club," Postecoglou, whose side are now winless in five league games, said.
"Losing so many games in the league season is not right. I know we've gone through a tough time, and yes, we are asking big jobs, but I hope they're hurting. The reality of it is that our results and our form in the league have been nowhere near good enough. That needs to change."
Tottenham captain Son, who was substituted during the second half, echoed Postecoglou's thoughts.
"Very disappointing. The manager is right. We were too passive. Second half was a little better. The first half was not good enough," the South Korean, who has now scored eight Premier League goals against Arsenal, said.
"We have to do better in every aspect. When you look at the table it's not good enough."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
