Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino says Spurs should have won but failed to kill the game

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has hailed his team's mature performance during the 1-1 draw at Arsenal although he feels his side failed to kill off the game in order to claim a deserved victory. The Argentine boss also refused to set a season target for his side despite their impressive unbeaten run in the Premier League, having not lost since the opening day defeat to Manchester United.

Harry Kane gave Spurs a deserved lead in the first-half after a good pass from left-back Danny Rose. However, Kieran Gibbs denied Pochettino's men the victory, levelling the game later in the second half following a another assist from Mesut Ozil.

Pochettino expressed his happiness with his side performance but believes they deserved a better result.

"Yes, we should have won but I feel very proud of the players. We played very well. You need to kill the game. When we were 1-0 up we had chances to score again," the manager said, as quoted by BBC. "We played three matches in six days and had one day less to recover but we showed great character and personality.

"We need to carry on in the same philosophy. But we are 11 games unbeaten and I can feel hugely proud. The progress we are making is correct. The way we played we should feel very proud. The effort was brilliant. The level we showed and the commitment was fantastic. It's the way we want to carry on."

Spurs dominated large parts of the game in a very intense derby despite having played twice this week already in the Europe League on Thursday and against Aston Villa on Monday. The manager believes the response of the squad to the busy fixture list was great but says it is still too soon to say how far this team can go. Tottenham are currently sat in fifth place in the Premier League, just five points from the top.

"In six days we've played three matches, maybe we felt it in the final minutes. We need to recognise we are a very young team. This experience is very important," the manager said.

"We need to show we are maturing. The level we have today is good, we need to show more and to improve. It's early to set a limit or to expect a lot of things."