Ange Postecoglou to hand Ben Davies rare start v Arsenal in new Tottenham selection twist
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has been tipped to hand Ben Davies his first Premier League start in two months against Arsenal, by Alan Hutton.
Spurs return from a fortnight without Premier League action to face their North London rivals on Sunday (28 April) but will be without Destiny Udogie after the full-back’s season was brought to a premature end through injury.
The 21-year-old has been a key part of Postecoglou’s system so far this season, with him and Pedro Porro operating as inverted full-backs in possession, but the Italian defender’s injury has left the Spurs boss short of options.
While Hutton isn’t convinced Davies has what it takes to be a like-for-like replacement for Udogie against the Gunners, he doesn’t expect Postecoglou to stray away from the system that has served him so well this season.
“Part of me thinks that Ange won’t want to change the style of play,” Hutton told Tottenham News.
“Ben Davies will probably come in, I don’t really see him playing that number 10 role. You’ve got Porro on the other side with Romero and Van de Ven in the middle, that’s what I would go with.
“They’ve got Emerson Royal who play either side, he’s played on the right and he can play on the left as well, that’s obviously an option, but I don’t really see him changing the style that’s worked for him up until now.
“He’s had some difficult injury problems and he’s still continued to play the same way so for me that’s how he’ll play going forward, I don’t think he will change.”
Will Ben Davies start for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham in North London derby clash v Arsenal?
Every game between now and the end of the season is now a must-win for Postecoglou and Spurs. While the Tottenham boss would have liked to have his strongest starting XI available, he now just has to deal with this latest injury blow.
Davies may not be the perfect full-back and Hutton is right to have his reservations over the Welsh international’s ability to play in the more attacking role, but he is more than capable of doing a job over the last few weeks of the campaign.
If Pedro Porro is fit and available to feature against the Gunners, Postecoglou may even be able to deploy Emerson on the left of the defence and maintain some semblance of control from the wider areas of the field.
Throughout his brief tenure in North London, Postecoglou has never tended to drift too far away from his solid principles and tactical set-up, therefore it seems incredibly unlikely he will do so on Sunday just because of a single injury.
In other Tottenham news, Daniel Levy has been backed to complete a £40million deal for Brentford striker Ivan Toney this summer
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