A visibly disappointed Mauricio Pochettino has insisted his Tottenham Hotspur side were the better side, especially before they conceded the first goal in a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal.

Two first half goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez won the match for the home side as Arsene Wenger’s men thoroughly outfought and outclassed their visitors from N17.

However former Argentina defender Pochettino disagreed. In a spiky press conference at the Emirates after the match he also blamed referee Mike Dean for his decisions in the build-up to both Gunners goals.

Mustafi’s header came after referee Dean had awarded a dubious free-kick for a foul on Sanchez which did not look to be a foul, while Alexandre Lacazette was in a borderline offside position before he provided an assist for the second.

Spurs boss Pochettino said: “I’m very disappointed with the result and in the way we conceceded the goals. It’s difficult to explain when you lose in this way.

“I don’t blame the referee but we need to accept that. If you analyse the game until we concede the goals we were better than them.

“To come back in this type of game is difficult.”

When questioned if Spurs struggle against bigger teams away from home he visibly bristled before replying testily: “I don’t see that we struggle away from home.

“We need to build a new stadium we need to build a squad. We need to build many things.

“I am so disappointed at the game. At 2-0 down I had to find a different option [by taking off Kane and Alli]”.

However, Wenger disagreed praising his team for their solidarity and hard work. He said: “We played with purpose and solidarity.”

Even neutral football fans were quick to take exception with Pochettino’s opinion with ‘Howardb117’ writing on Twitter: “I watched as a neutral. If Pochettino thinks Spurs were the better team, he needs to rewatch it ASAP.”