Richarlison to remain at Tottenham? Winners and losers from victory v Arsenal
Tottenham recorded their first victory against bitter rivals Arsenal since May 2022 in a friendly in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Pape Matar Sarr’s stunning long-range effort proved to be the difference in a 1-0 victory at Kai Tak Sports Park (31 July), which saw a marked improvement in Tottenham’s defending and general structure throughout the match.
While the result will not carry much meaning beyond temporary bragging rights, it will have given Thomas Frank a much better insight into his players’ level against their first real test in pre-season.
The Dane will now be in a better position to assess his squad ahead of key decisions this summer, as Tottenham News picks out two winners and two losers from the narrow victory.
Richarlison working his way into Frank’s plans
Richarlison has been linked with a Spurs exit for most of the summer after making just four Premier League starts last season as injuries derailed his campaign.
The Brazilian missed Tottenham’s first friendly this summer against Reading as Frank stated he was still working his way up to full fitness, raising more doubt over his long-term future.
Against the Gunners, Richarlison proved, as he often has, that he is an instrumental player when fully fit and was at his combative best leading the line, while helping his side defend multiple set pieces.
The striker was a constant thorn in Mikel Arteta’s side, with his lively performance earning Richarlison the Player of the Match award and staking his claim to stay at Tottenham beyond the summer.
Guglielmo Vicario’s kicking is becoming an issue
One of the notable facets of the performance at Kai Tak Sports Park was that Spurs were largely controlled on the ball and played around Arsenal’s press with confidence and purpose.
However, when the ball was played back to Guglielmo Vicario, the goalkeeper often could not keep the move going and resorted to firing a hopeful ball long or losing possession with a misplaced kick.
The shotstopper only needed to make one save, and still struggled to command the penalty area for a couple of Arsenal’s set pieces.
With Antonin Kinsky waiting in the wings, who is far more adept at both passing and collecting long balls, the Italian may be slowly losing his grip on the number one spot between the sticks at Tottenham.
Wilson Odobert is starting to realise his potential
Wilson Odobert backed up his performance against Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday (26 July) with another bright display on the opposite flank against Spurs’ North London rivals.
The France Under-21 forward endured a torrid debut campaign in N17 as two separate hamstring injuries saw him miss almost five months of action, but the former Burnley man is starting to realise the potential that Tottenham were hoping to see when they invested £25million in the talented 20-year-old.
He hit the post for the second game running, and offered a directness to his game that only new signing Mohammed Kudus can claim to match at Tottenham.
Odobert still lacks a degree of physicality and can be a little wasteful on the ball, but he is certainly becoming a more potent weapon for Frank to keep developing.
Brennan Johnson is becoming increasingly peripheral
Due to the form of both Kudus and Odobert, as well as the flashes of quality shown by Mathys Tel so far, Brennan Johnson is seeing himself become an increasingly peripheral figure at Spurs.
The Wales international was Spurs’ top scorer last season, but is proving less effective in his new manager’s system, which requires the forward to be much more involved in the build-up.
The 24-year-old had just four touches in the 30 minutes he was afforded off the bench, and is quickly falling down the pecking order at Tottenham.
Frank was keen on bringing Johnson to Brentford in previous seasons, but it remains to be seen whether he can get the best out of the Europa League final matchwinner.
Sign up for the daily Tottenham News newsletter on Substack and our new WhatsApp channel to have all the latest, breaking Tottenham Hotspur news sent straight to your phone.