Tottenham's Rafael van der Vaart 'irritated' by Harry Redknapp decisions

The Dutchman scored the opener in Tottenham's 2-1 win at White Hart Lane but was unhappy with the amount of defensive work he had to undertake.

Van der Vaart has usually been used in central positions, either behind a lone striker or as part of a two-man midfield and feels those roles suit his style of play better and allow him to display his skills.

However, Redknapp opted to switch him to the wider areas at White Hart Lane on Sunday, a decision which annoyed the Dutch international.

"I have definitely had a series of irritations. You want to play in the position where you do best," he said.

"But if I have to chase after an attacking full-back every time, I can't play my own game to my best ability.

"Sunday was not the first time I have played out wide and I was given the freedom to move infield. But you could see from the goal I scored that my strength lies in the centre of midfield.

"It proves that I am more dangerous when I am close to the goal than when I play out on the wing. I do what the manager asks me to but I hope this won't be a regular occurrence."

Van der Vaart was also unhappy that Redknapp decided to substitute him in the 63rd minute and bring on Sandro to reinforce the midfield.

Redknapp regularly takes Van der Vaart off because there is a weakness in the player's hamstrings, a remark the 28-year-old wishes the manager had kept to himself.

"In my opinion he made a mistake in making his comments about my most recent injury," Van der Vaart said.

"He took me off because he did not want to take any risks with me. I can understand that but I am convinced I could have played for 90 minutes.

"I was amazed to be taken off. I felt I'd played a great game. I scored and also three times put team-mates in one-on-ones with Arsenal's keeper.

Van der Vaart has also criticised Arsenal for taking their defeat badly, following suggestions that his goal should not have stood and that he should have received a second yellow card for celebrating with the crowd.

"They are bad losers. No, it was not handball - I took the ball on my chest," he said.

"And have you seen how close the crowd is to our pitch? Where else should I run?"