Jack Wilshere was disappointed that Arsenal couldn’t hurt Tottenham on the counter attack, but believes Arsenal have the character to bounce back.

Arsenal performed reasonably well in the first half of their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.

Their defending was decent, and they carried some menace on the counter.

Unfortunately, our final ball in those situations wasn’t good enough, and we were unable to punish Spurs.

Speaking to Arsenal.com after the game, Wilshere lamented not making the most of those opportunities.

“The game was there in the first half, they were a bit cagey and we defended well,” he said.

“We got down on the counter-attack a few times in the first half and looked like we could have really hurt them, but then we had our final ball where we rushed it and the chance was gone.

“We’ll look back and take somme positives, but at the end of the day, it was a big game for us and we lost, we’re not happy.”

Spurs upped their performance in the second half and, for the most part, Arsenal were unable to cope with their intensity.

Wilshere has no idea why that happened, but is expecting the team to move on and bounce back.

“They started sharper than us I suppose. It’s something we spoke about as well, so I don’t really know why that happened. But we have to deal with it now. We’ve lost the game and we have to move on and focus on the next game and try to win the next game.

“That’s the most important thing. In the past, this team has always shown good character and we need to put a run together now and give ourselves a decent chance of challenging.”

Talk of character is cheap after many of our performances this season.

If the team doesn’t have the character to perform well in a North London derby, then what hopes does it have in the remaining games this season?

Perhaps we will put a run together. At which point, the team will pat itself on the back for bouncing back.

Then, next season, we’ll go through the same cycle again.

Rather than talk up the team’s character all the time, maybe we should start showing it throughout a season.