Pochettino has no time for Wenger complaints
Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino refuted claims of time-wasting by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after the North London derby ended 1-1.
Despite spending much of Saturday's contest on the back foot, the visitors stunned the Emirates Stadium crowd by taking a 56th-minute lead through Nacer Chadli, as he scored his fourth goal in five Premier League games this season.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain levelled matters with 16 minutes left, prompting sustained Arsenal pressure, but Wenger objected to some of Tottenham's methods in keeping his team at bay.
"[Tottenham defenders] Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen did well, as well as [Tottenham goalkeeper] Hugo Lloris," Wenger said, "They took every second they could again, to make the game last as little as possible.
"I would like to see the referee deal with that in the proper way for once."
But Pochettino was dismissive when Wenger's accusations were put to him at the post-match press conference.
He said: "I don't know. So, now, when I analyse in this moment if we were wasting time, I think no.
"We tried to play in our way, tried to stick to our plan in the game, but, okay, this is football."
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Pochettino acknowledged that Arsenal dominated possession for long spells but was pleased to see his an organised Tottenham line-up largely restrict them to half-chances.
"I think it is a good point, yes," he added. "After the game, when we analyse it, I think Arsenal managed the ball, managed the possession.
"But our plan, as you saw on the pitch, was to be compact, to be able to receive in the defensive line and, after we recovered the ball, to go forward quickly to surprise Arsenal."
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