Any derby defeat is painful, and it sparks reaction from the fan base.

Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-1 against Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday, and there are plenty of reasons for supporters to feel frustrated.

Not only does it dampen their hopes of a place in the Premier League top four, but the recurrent theme – playing a negative brand of football against a big opponent – still rings true.

Former Tottenham player Graham Roberts echoed the sentiment of what most Spurs fans were feeling last night.

Think we didn’t wake up mate

— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) March 14, 2021

Do any of our players know it’s a bloody north London derby ffs

— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) March 14, 2021

That’s against all the big teams we beat man united and Man City and Arsenal at home haven’t turned up in the other big games mourinho lucky there’s no crowd mate

— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) March 14, 2021

Roberts was particularly unhappy with the performance of right-back Matt Doherty.

The 29-year-old was poor at the back and made several individual errors throughout the game. He was constantly beaten at pace by Kieran Tierney while struggling miserably in the right-back role.

Very poor today

— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) March 14, 2021

Since joining from Wolves in the summer transfer window, Doherty has been pretty average.

He has made 25 appearances in all competitions, but apart from one or two odd games, there hasn’t been any spectacular performance from him.

It appears as if he lacks confidence, or maybe the system is not bringing the best out of him. Roberts has a different theory.

Maybe club to big for him

— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) March 14, 2021

Despite the defeat, Spurs are still seventh in the Premier League table with 45 points, two points above Liverpool and just one point and a place behind Everton.