By Betsefy
Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Eric Dier is confident that his side will be able to recover from their 3-1 North London derby defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates.
The Lilywhites could have leapfrogged their bitter rivals at the top of the Premier League table with victory on Saturday lunchtime, but Antonio Conte‘s side were thoroughly beaten.
A stunning long-range effort from Thomas Partey broke the deadlock for the Gunners, who were pegged back to 1-1 at half time through Harry Kane‘s penalty.
The England captain scored his 100th away goal in the Premier League after Gabriel Magalhaes had brought down Richarlison, but Spurs were behind again four minutes into the second half.
Hugo Lloris parried a shot from Bukayo Saka into a dangerous area, which Gabriel Jesus pounced on, and Granit Xhaka‘s low drive completed a deserved win for the Gunners, who finished the game with an extra man after Emerson Royal‘s sending off.
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Tottenham have now fallen four points behind Arsenal in the table after suffering their first league defeat of the new season, but Dier believes that his side can take lessons from last season, where they ultimately finished above the Gunners after losing at the Emirates.
“They started better in both halves, and scored a good goal from outside the box. After that we were much better, got to 1-1 but lacked quality in the final pass,” Dier told BT Sport.
“Same again in the second half. We didn’t start well, conceded a poor goal after the sending off and it was difficult. It was 2-1 at that point and they scored straight away again. We couldn’t really organise ourselves before they got the third.
“This is the beginning of the season so it is not too much of a big blow. It’s disappointing, of course, but we lost here at the start of last season as well and built again and had a good finish. I am sure we can do the same and go again this year.”
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Tottenham grew into the game as the first half went on and continued to look a threat on the counter-attack, but a moment of ill discipline from Royal scuppered their hopes of a second-half comeback.
The Brazilian wing-back was penalised for catching Gabriel Martinelli on the shin while the Arsenal man was turning back towards his own goal, receiving a straight red card for that studs-up challenge.
As a result, Emerson will now miss Tottenham’s upcoming league games with Brighton & Hove Albion, Everton and Manchester United through suspension, opening the door for Matt Doherty or Djed Spence to stake their claim at right-wing back.
Conte’s side will aim to return to winning ways when they resume their Champions League campaign away to Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday night.
