Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou let down by four players in disappointing Arsenal defeat

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou let down by four players in disappointing Arsenal defeat

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Arsenal cruise to victory over Tottenham

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 28/04/2024

- 15:59

It was a difficult day for Spurs in the north London derby

Tottenham were gunned down by Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta's side winning 3-2 at the home of their fierce rivals to boost their chances of Premier League title glory.

Arsenal went ahead in the 15th minute, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg heading the ball into his own net.


Tottenham thought they'd equalised through Micky van de Ven but, after his effort was ruled out for offside by VAR, further goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz consigned them to defeat - even if Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min were able to net consolations.

GB News now takes a look at four Spurs players who weren't good enough on a nightmare afternoon for Ange Postecoglou and his team.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

Tottenham Arsenal

Tottenham were downed by an impressive Arsenal side during Sunday's north London derby

GETTY

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has struggled for regular game time ever since the appointment of Postecoglou back in the summer.

And his performance during Sunday's match with Arsenal will do little to help his cause as he looks to become a regular in the team once again.

He was unlucky with his own goal but poor positioning cost him dearly, with Hojbjerg unable to prevent himself from heading the ball past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham certainly need an upgrade on their current midfielder when the transfer window reopens at the end of the season.

Declan Rice and Thomas Partey were levels ahead of the Tottenham star, with both players shining for the Gunners in the middle of the park as they battled to a huge derby win.

Ben Davies

Ben Davies is a player who, when on form, is one of the best full-backs in the Premier League.

But this was a day for the Tottenham star to forget.

Davies didn't do too much wrong but should have done better to prevent Bukayo Saka from scoring, with the Arsenal star allowed to cut inside on his preferred left foot to double the Gunners' advantage.

Saka had Davies' number all match long and, had it not been for Vicario, could have had a hat-trick.

That won't provide Postecoglou with much solace tonight.

Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski offerered promise against Arsenal, with the Sweden international sometimes causing problems with his trickery and speed.

Yet he was guilty of losing Havertz for Arsenal's third goal of the match.

The Gunners forward was able to easily get away from Kulusevski and, by the time the Tottenham star realised he'd lost his man, it was far too late.

In truth, all of Tottenham's forwards failed to cause any significant problems.

That, potentially, is another area the club need to address when the transfer window reopens in just a few months.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS:

James Maddison

Arsenal Tottenham

Arsenal were too strong for Tottenham and impressed with their performance in the derby on Sunday

GETTY

Derby days are when you need your best players to step up and make themselves count.

Saka and Havertz did exactly that for Arsenal.

But James Maddison was surprisingly subdued, with the England international struggling to impact proceedings - especially in the first half.

Arsenal Tottenham

Kai Havertz celebrates scoring Arsenal's third goal of the game in their derby win over Tottenham

GETTY

Things did improve for Spurs after the break but Maddison was still on the fringes of the action.

Tottenham will look to bounce back when they lock horns with Chelsea on Thursday night.

You may like