Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou provided a classic response when quizzed over the penalty decision against his side in Sunday’s north London derby draw against Arsenal. Spurs were on the wrong end of a VAR decision during the entertaining 2-2 stalemate at the Emirates Stadium.
Heung-min Son’s brace cancelled out Cristian Romero’s own goal and Bukayo Saka’s penalty as Arsenal and Tottenham continued their unbeaten starts to the Premier League season.
Saka’s strike came about after VAR reversed referee Robert Jones’ decision not to award the hosts a spot-kick when Romero blocked a goal-bound shot with his hand from close quarters.
The 22-year-old winger made no mistake, firing down the middle, before Spurs equalised for a second time just a minute later to share the spoils.
After full-time, Postecoglou was asked for his thoughts on the penalty decision, given Jones initially didn’t deem Romero’s block punishable.
Reporters have grown accustomed to the laid-back Aussie’s takes on controversial matters since he arrived in the Premier League from Celtic in the summer.
And it was no different at the Emirates. “It is what it is, mate,” Postecoglou calmly noted.
But there was a hint of frustration regarding consistency in his answer, adding: “It seems like sometimes it hits your hand, and it’s a penalty and other times it’s not a penalty. You hope these things even themselves out.”
Postecoglou pushed his subtle qualms aside to praise Spurs for their performance, which extended the club’s undefeated league start to six games.
“It’s not about being happy with the result,” Postecoglou responded to suggestions he was satisfied with the point.
“You can get a result and a draw and think you’ve escaped, but I didn’t think that today. I thought we went toe to toe with a top team.”
Son led by example against the Gunners, operating in a central position with Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson on either side.
And Postecoglou hailed his newly appointed club captain for filling in the void left by Harry Kane after his departure for Bayern Munich.
He continued: “He’s [Son’s] been outstanding as a leader and as a player. I’ve put him in that nine position now, and he just works so hard.
“His first thought is what’s best for the team, and he puts himself into that position and then he has the quality to finish.
“I’m so happy for him. When I talk about that great environment with the players, Sonny is leading that with Madders and Romero.”
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