Tottenham star echoes Arsene Wenger’s recent excuse for a defeat
Tottenham’s Eric Dier in action
Are Chelsea’s London title rivals wilting under the pressure of keeping pace with the Blues?
Both Arsenal and Tottenham have experienced setbacks in the past fortnight, and key figures at each club have blamed attitude as the reason behind defeats.
Spurs utility man Eric Dier told SkySports yesterday that he felt the reason they lost at Liverpool at the weekend was because the team had the wrong mental approach to the game.
Dier said: “I don’t think you could call us timid. We definitely weren’t in the right frame of mind and didn’t have the right attitude on Saturday. So everyone is very disappointed about that and it doesn’t sit well with us.”
The England midfielder’s admission is a concerning one and echoes comments made by Arsene boss Arsene Wenger after a surprise 2-1 home loss to Watford.
Wenger told The Guardian: “Mentally, we were not ready for the challenges. When you play at home, in our position, that is not normal. Everybody in the Premier League is strong physically and [to give] 90% is not enough.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks dejected
While Arsenal’s defeat could perhaps be put down to complacency, reasons for Tottenham’s loss to Liverpool is tougher to fathom, but Dier’s comments should be a worry, and a warning to the rest of the squad not to play with the same approach again.
Both teams have the talent to compete for the title, and have both beaten Chelsea comfortably at home this season.
They each however have lacked the ruthlessness of the Blues, which is why Antonio Conte’s side have an eight point gap at the top, and the North London sides sit in third and fourth place.
Until they adjust that and ensure their levels do not drop across the season, Chelsea will remain hard to catch, and the task may already be beyond them this campaign.
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