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Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris: This is why we were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal

Football

By Mirror | Mar 15, 2021

**March 14, 2021 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates with Arsenal's Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka after the match** [REUTERS]

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris believes his side "played with a lot of fear" in their 2-1 defeat to rivals Arsenal on Sunday.

Despite Erik Lamela giving Spurs the lead with an outrageous rabona strike, the Gunners ultimately emerged victorious after goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette.

Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas criticised Jose Mourinho's "cautious" approach to the fixture, telling BBC Sport : "The minute they have come up against anyone decent, they have reverted to type.

"That means sitting deep and being cautious, which again got Spurs nowhere on Sunday. And what we saw against Arsenal is what is going to happen every time unless Mourinho gets them back playing on the front foot.

"It was an all-round shocker of a display from Tottenham against Arsenal but, first and foremost, their mindset for the game was absolutely awful.

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"Going into any derby with the type of mentality I saw from the whole Spurs team in the first half is asking for trouble. They were there to be beaten, as simple as that."

Speaking to RMC Sport, Lloris admitted that he was "expecting a little more" from his team-mates and that they "did not feel free".

He said: "We were expecting a little more, to see another Tottenham. I think that we can be proud of what we did when we were down to 10 men, because that is when we increased our levels of intensity and aggression.

"And we pushed our opponents into making mistakes, we could have equalised with a little more luck. But before that, it was a match I feel that was played with a lot of fear.

"I felt like we did not feel free and Arsenal were able to profit. Two teams in a lot of doubt. And in the end, Arsenal won at home."

After the game, Mourinho accused his "big players" of "hiding", saying: "We were poor. Defending bad. No intensity or pressing. Some important players hiding. Really bad.

"Big players… you play for Tottenham then you are a big player. I’m not pointing the finger at A, B or C, I’m even pointing at myself because we are a team. But when we were as poor as we were, we don’t point the finger at anyone.

"Intensity. Gareth and Tanguy. We needed more intensity in that game. We need to be more intense in the game."