‘A couple of sleepless nights’ – Dele reveals what stung most in Arsenal defeat

Dele Alli has admitted that he endured ‘a couple of sleepless nights’ after being hauled off at half-time during Tottenham’s defeat against Arsenal last weekend. 

Tottenham were blitzed by Mikel Arteta’s side in the opening 45 minutes, who took a three-goal lead heading into the break, all but ending the match as a contest. 

Heung-min Son added a late consolation for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as Spurs fell to their third successive Premier League defeat. 

Spurs’ midfield, consisting of Alli, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele, struggled to adapt to Arsenal’s energy and press, often leaving the back line exposed.

The first half forced Nuno’s hand and he had to change things up, with Alli being dragged off at the break alongside Japhet Tanganga in a bid to launch a comeback. 

The 25-year-old hasn’t lost the trust of Nuno entirely, though, as he was handed the captaincy during Tottenham’s 5-1 win over Slovenian side NS Mura in the Europa Conference League. 

Speaking after the victory, Alli revealed the outcome of last Sunday’s clash was tough for the players, but the manner in which it happened hurt him in particular. 

Alli said after his side’s European victory: “It’s hard for us to take. We know much it hurt the fans but believe me it hurt the players just as much, if not even more.

“For me personally, being subbed at half-time as well, [resulted in] a couple of sleepless nights. We know what we have to do. To keep working, to believe in the process, everyone at the club – the fans, the players – they have to believe in what we’re doing.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

Alli endured a tough afternoon against Arsenal overall last weekend, after he and his teammates in midfield were simply overpowered. It is never nice to see players hauled off, especially in that manner, but there wasn’t much choice at the time. 

Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Related Topics

Have something to tell us about this article? Let us know