Dejan Kulusevski insisted that there is not a big gap between Tottenham and Arsenal, with the Swede insisting that the Gunners are simply a more disciplined side at the moment.
The reason there is a lot of disappointment among Spurs after Sunday’s result was due to the peculiar nature of the encounter.
Arsenal never really got out of second gear for much of the game and despite dominating proceedings for the majority of the clash, Tottenham were fairly easily beaten.
The Lilywhites were very much architects of their own downfall, conceding two goals from corners, including a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal.
Kulusevski wants Tottenham to mature under Postecoglou
When asked after the game if there is a big gap in quality between the two North London sides, Kulusevski told Football.London: “No it is not [a big gap], but they are much more disciplined. Much more disciplined and a little bit more mature. That is where we are lacking at the moment. They score on corners. We concede. It is quite easy. Being strong in difficult moments like a set-piece. Things like that.”
The Swede pointed out that Tottenham would not have been able to fight back the way did in the second half if they did not have a great mentality but he acknowledged that he and his teammates needed to stay focused throughout matches and could not afford lapses in concentration.
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He continued: “It is. It is all in life. That is the only thing that matters. The head. You can be how good you want in football but you’ve got to be strong in every situation.
“Of course, they, Arsenal have obviously done that in the last period. They fight to win the league. We still have to do that. We are improving in other areas. We still lack a little bit in that part. I don’t think it is about ambition. I think everybody wants to win but then you have to sacrifice a lot for that. It is a lot.
“Talking about mentality, do you think it is easy to be down 3-0 at half time and then go out and play 3-2 against the ones that are first? That is also mentality. Second half was unbelievable. We are showing it, it is just that you have to show it for 90 minutes. If not it is difficult. We are showing it in bits but we have to do it much more consistently.”
Kulusevski reiterated that Tottenham needed to stop conceding soft goals if they want to get to the next level.
The 24-year-old added: “It is always the bigger picture in sport, but then we have to take responsibility. We have to win games. We have to improve. If we are not doing that then people are of course going to be disappointed. We have to grow because you cannot concede easy goals like that. The football is quite good, but we have to improve here.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While one can talk about staying switched on and keeping your head in the game, there are clearly preparational and tactical elements to these defeats that have to be discussed.
The way we are set up to defend set-pieces needs to be improved while there is always a persistent danger of being caught out on the counter-attack by top sides if we are to keep pushing both our full-backs forward at the same time.
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