Saturday 18 November 2017 16:20, UK
Mauricio Pochettino was aggrieved with the decisions in the build-up to Arsenal's opening goal in Tottenham's 2-0 defeat on Saturday.
Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez secured the Gunners a dominant 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium, but there was a hint of fortune about each of the first-half goals.
Mustafi's header came after referee Mike Dean had awarded a dubious free-kick for a foul on Sanchez, while Mustafi looked borderline offside as he netted. Alexandre Lacazette also appeared offside in the build-up to the second goal.
Pochettino pinpointed the first goal in the 36th minute as the key moment in the match and thought Arsenal benefitted from the mistakes.
"I'm very disappointed in the performance and the way we conceded the goals," he said.
"It's difficult to explain when you lose in this way. Small details which are big details - that can change everything in football. Maybe (Granit) Xhaka should be sent off before?
"The foul wasn't a foul. The goal was offside. But we lose. We have to go home and keep going.
"I'm not blaming the referee. It's a strange situation - it changed the dynamic of the game. We need to accept that. We can't control that.
"Before the goal, the team was doing well, we were better than them. But it's not one mistake, it's two mistakes. It wasn't a foul and then it was offside. We then conceded a goal very quickly. From 2-0 down in this type of game when you play teams at the same level it's very difficult to win the game."
The defeat was Pochettino's first north London derby reverse in the Premier League as Spurs continued to struggle away from home against the other top-six teams, having now claimed just three wins from 32 away days against the 'big six'.
However, Pochettino does not think his team have a problem with their away record.
"I don't think we struggled away from home," he said.
"We are in the same situation as everyone. It was difficult for Manchester United to play at Chelsea. It's not only Tottenham that struggle to compete with the big teams away from home.
"We need to do many things. We need to win trophies, we need to build the new stadium, we need to build the squad, we need to play young players."
