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Rice reckons the Gunners “should have scored 10” after leaving Tottenham with one victory in nine Premier League games.
Postecoglou sounded even more downbeat than every other damning assessment of Spurs’ 2-1 loss when interviewed afterwards.
And ex-Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon believes the manager would be under much fiercer pressure than he already is were it not for a fine Carabao Cup run.
Spurs take a 1-0 lead to Liverpool for their semi-final second leg on February 6.
But after seeing the shocking slump at the Emirates, Lennon said: “This puts a lot of unrest in that camp.
“If they weren’t in the Carabao Cup semi-finals there would be big problems.
But having needed extra time to see off fifth-tier Tamworth in the FA Cup three days earlier, Postecoglou admitted Tottenham were “nowhere near good enough” against their biggest rivals in the North London derby
Spurs have picked up just nine points from a possible 27, the only win in that run being a 5-0 romp at bottom club Southampton on December 15. Their fans have also seen only one victory at Arsenal in the past 32 visits.
In fact, a 24-point tally from 21 games this season means Tottenham are closer to Southampton’s six-point total than to the Gunners’ 43.
Dominic Solanke’s own goal and Leandro Trossard’s flashing finish overturned Son Heung-min’s opener on Wednesday night.
And Gunners’ midfielder Rice said: “That meant more than anything. From the first minute, it was pure domination. You could tell it was a Derby.
“To be honest with you, we were unlucky, we probably should have scored 10 tonight.”
Postecoglou was almost as brutal in his own analysis – and blamed himself.
He told TNT Sports: “Nowhere near good enough, especially in the first half. We were too passive. We let Arsenal dictate the game.
“Second half was a little better [but] … not acceptable.
“Ultimately the responsibility lies with me and how I prepare the players.
“Of course they [defeats] hurt me. Not acceptable. Too many losses this year. Too many games getting away from us. It needs to stop. If you give up now, there’s no point. Right now we have a big game against Everton this weekend. That’s our focus.”
Spurs are still eight points clear of the drop zone, and even a point above Manchester United. But losing on Sunday at the out-of-form Toffees, who hope returning boss David Moyes will turn them around, could drop Postecoglou’s men from an embarrassing 13th to 15th. — Sun.
Online Reporter