Jose Mourinho savoured Tottenham’s triumph in the north London derby but insisted Arsenal and Mikel Arteta did not deserve criticism.
First-half goals from Son Heung-min and Harry Kane gave the home side a 2-0 victory and took them back to the top of the Premier League.
It also piled the pressure on Gunners boss Arteta, whose side are 15th in the table.
But Tottenham boss Mourinho said: “For me the performance was very, very good against a team that probably is going to be criticised because the points and the position in the table are not good.
“But I have to say: very good team, very good coach. A team with different ways to play that is able to change during the game. So it was a very complex game for us.”
Nevertheless, Arsenal had no answer to their rivals’ ruthless counter-attacking style and could find no way past them during the second half.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Mourinho said: “In the first half we put ourselves in a position of a good advantage and in the second half we accepted what they did to us.
“Have the ball, try to hurt us, but it is going to be very difficult for you because we defend very well and very comfortably.
“There were great performances individually, a great mentality and a great effort. I am so happy with the players.”