Jamie O’Hara left red-faced over embarrassing Arsenal take as Tottenham fail ultimate test
Tottenham suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Arsenal, as Jamie O’Hara was left red-faced by one of his takes.
On an afternoon where Spurs could have sent a statement to their Premier League rivals, Thomas Frank’s men were decimated by the Gunners.
Leandro Trossard broke through Frank’s low block as Tottenham failed to register a shot on goal in the first half.
Eberechi Eze, who almost joined Spurs in the summer, then scored a second-half hat-trick, either side of a Richarlison wonder strike, to hand Arsenal a 4-1 win.
Jamie O’Hara said Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are better than William Saliba and Gabriel
The Lilywhites were second best in every aspect against their fiercest rivals and were ultimately picked off.
Although Arsenal were without Gabriel Magalhaes through injury, Arteta’s side were secure defensively, even with the introduction of Piero Hincapie.
It was only Richarlison’s long-range hit that breached their defence, conceding just a 0.07 xG, whereas Spurs were all over the shop at the back.
| Arsenal | Stats | Tottenham |
| 1.88 | Expected goals | 0.07 |
| 3 | Big chances | 0 |
| 17 | Shots | 3 |
| 8 | Shots on target | 2 |
| 1 | Goalkeeper saves | 4 |
| 4 | Corners | 1 |
| 441 | Passes | 328 |
Frank started with a back three of Kevin Danso, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, with Xavi Simons replacing Danso at half-time.
The Dane typically plays a five-man defence in the big games, but his setup didn’t work today, while Jamie O’Hara was surely left feeling embarrassed.
In a recent interview on Sky Sports, O’Hara said that Van de Ven and Romero were better as a partnership than Saliba and Gabriel.
“I’m gonna stick to my guns and say yes,” he said when asked who he thinks is better of the two partnerships.
“The reason being, Arsenal defensively are incredible as a unit, as a team, they’re brilliant, Spurs are not. But I think the two centre halves are absolutely fantastic.”
“I think if you were going to take two of them out and put two of them in, I think [Micky] van de Ven’s got more about him than Gabriel, and I think [Cristian] Romero is on par with [William] Saliba.”
O’Hara’s comments backfire
O’Hara’s take on the Spurs duo being better than Gabriel and Saliba was done with zero substance, and they made him eat his own words.
Arsenal have the league’s most feared defence with only six goals conceded in 12 matches, while Tottenham are known for being leaky at the back.
Of course, they weren’t helped by the lack of protection in front of them from Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha, but they were still erratic in their defending, something that must be improved.
Van de Ven and Romero arguably let the emotions of the game get the better of them, whereas the Gunners kept composed and were assured in possession.
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