Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou lavished praise on "outstanding" Cristian Romero following Sunday's 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby.

Spurs found themselves three goals behind in the first half of the Premier League contest, with Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz on the scoresheet after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had netted an own goal.

Romero made it 3-1 in the 64th minute before Son Heung-min scored a penalty late on to set up a grandstand finish, but Arsenal held on to pick up a vital three points in their pursuit of the Premier League title.

Postecoglou hailed Romero for his "outstanding" display against the Gunners and urged the rest of the Tottenham players to follow the Argentina international's lead.

"Yeah, he was outstanding. He's a World Cup winner and I've just got to get some of what's in him into some of the others," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying.

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Ange Postecoglou praises Cristian Romero's display vs. Arsenal

The Spurs head coach also opened up on his 'disappointment' at the result, with the capital outfit's top-four hopes taking a hit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham are fifth in the Premier League table, seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who have played two games more.

"Disappointing. It was a disappointing day for us. It was a big game, a big game for the club, for our fans. We didn't get the outcome we wanted so obviously very disappointing," the manager added.

"The outcome was disappointing. We wanted to win today for our supporters and for the club. We didn't do that and whatever I think about the performance it's still the outcome that sits on you.

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Tottenham's top-four hopes take a hit in the derby

"I thought our general football was good, was decent. We controlled the game for long periods for the most part but we know that. We know we're a team that can do that.

"It's about now over the course of time getting from where we are to where we want to get to. To do that we're still not absolutely laser focused on the details, the small things that get you from where we are to become a team that contends.

"Credit to Arsenal, they're there now. They're a team that does deal with the details well and we don't."

Tottenham will take on Chelsea (A), Liverpool (A), Burnley (H), Manchester City (H) and Sheffield United (A) in their final five games of the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Spurs have now lost their last two in the Premier League, having also been beaten 4-0 by Newcastle United in their game ahead of the North London derby.