Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski had no time for excuses as Spurs slipped to a 2-1 Premier League derby defeat away at rivals Arsenal.
Son Heung-min’s early goal had put Spurs in front, before a controversial leveller from hosts, and Leandro Trossard’s ultimate winner just before the half-time break.
Spurs improved at the restart at the Emirates Stadium, but they were unable to breach Arsenal’s defensive resilience, with boss Ange Postecoglou under renewed pressure following a miserable start to 2025.
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Either side of a Carabao Cup semifinal first-leg win over Liverpool, and a nervy FA Cup Third Round victory at fifth-tier Tamworth, Spurs have lost both league games at the start of 2025 – with no league win in their last five games.
Kulusvski has been a leading light for Postecoglou so far this season, with eight goals and eight assists across all competitions, but the Swedish international claimed his side simply lost the battle as Arsenal turned up the tempo in North London.
‘Not enough quality’
“Arsenal are very strong. They are very strong defensively. In the second half we played a little bit more offensively, but still not good enough,” he said at full-time.
“Not enough quality, and physically against Arsenal we tried, but it was not good enough.
“Everyone must take responsibility. The people above us. The players, the manager, nobody can hide in the corner.”
Kulusevski shrugged off questions over the corner which led up to Arsenal’s equaliser being a turning point as the former Juventus attacker claimed the visitors should still have dealt with the threat.
Postecoglou now faces a potentially pivotal run of games to rescue his tenure, starting with a trip to struggling Everton on January 19, followed quickly by two UEFA Europa League games which will decide their fate for the Round of 16 knockout stage.
