Jose Mourinho gave Arsenal a tactical lesson, according to Freddie Ljungberg, who says the nature of the defeat to Tottenham “hurts”.
Arsenal suffered their sixth loss of the season in the North London Derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, and slipped to 15th in the Premier League standings as a result.
Son Heung-min’s stunning long-range strike set Spurs on their way to victory in the 13th minute, with the South Korean allowed to run through on goal after picking up a pass from Harry Kane on the halfway line before curling the ball into the far corner of the net.
The Gunners dominated possession thereafter, but struggled to create any clear openings as Mourinho’s side stuck to their shape vigilantly while looking for openings on the counterattack.
Tottenham eventually punished Arsenal on the break again just before the interval, with Kane finishing off a lightning-fast move after being teed up beautifully by Son in the penalty area.
Mikel Arteta’s men were unable to find a way back into the game in the second period, with the home side ultimately left celebrating a famous 2-0 win which saw them return to the top of the league.
Ljungberg felt Mourinho set his team up perfectly to seal the victory, and he has been impressed with how the Portuguese has been able to bring the best out of the Spurs squad since his appointment in November 2019.
“I haven’t recovered yet,” the former Gunners winger and interim head coach told Sky Sports. “It was tough but Mourinho gave us a lesson in how to play a tactical game.
“It was interesting but it still hurts. I thought Spurs, I didn’t think they would be that far ahead or top of the league to be honest.
“But you look at Mourinho, he’s got them inspired, his players are all doing what he wants them to do which I think is the hardest thing when you play the kind of football he does.
“Hats off to him, they’re doing really, really well.”
Arsenal and Tottenham will both be back in Europa League action on Thursday, with respective fixtures against Dundalk and Antwerp on the cards.
The two sides will resume their latest Premier League campaigns three days later, with the Gunners set to play host to Burnley and Spurs scheduled to take in a trip to Crystal Palace.
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