Thomas Frank has small positive to take from Arsenal vs Tottenham, it’s not Richarlison’s screamer
Tottenham were humiliated against Arsenal during the North London derby, but Djed Spence has given Thomas Frank something to consider.
Tottenham were not the favourites to win against Arsenal, but no one was expecting a result like that on 23 November.
It was embarrassing. Arsenal defeated Tottenham 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to Eberechi Eze, who rejected Spurs for the Gunners over the summer.
A summer rejection that came back to haunt them, a defence split wide open and a crowd of angry Tottenham fans – there’s not much for Frank to salvage.
However, Spence’s performance is one that undoubtedly went under the radar.
Djed Spence had one of his best defensive performances
With Tottenham finishing with a 4-1 scoreline, it becomes difficult to argue that a defender had an impressive performance.
But Tottenham players don’t tend to follow the norm in football. Indeed, Spence was solid against the Gunners.
- Spence won 100 per cent of his tackles and aerial duels
- He won 50 per cent of his ground duels
- He wasn’t dribbled past once
Furthermore, he made three recoveries, two clearances and one interception, according to Sofascore.
The dramatic scoreline doesn’t help his case, but fans must remember that most of Spurs’ goals were conceded through the middle of the pitch.
Spence and Destiny Udogie actually performed their defensive duties well. Well, as good as they could do in a team that was completely overrun.
Rodrigo Bentancur was the real culprit of the afternoon, failing to win a single ground duel and losing possession so many times in the midfield that fans gave up counting.
- Read more: The damning stats behind Tottenham’s derby day disaster vs Arsenal, Frank should be embarrassed
Djed Spence should start against PSG
It is pretty obvious why Spence statistically had one of his best performances in a Spurs shirt this season in a game where his team were completely dominated.
Given Pedro Porro‘s prestige in the team, the Spaniard is a very difficult player to bench. As a result, Spence has been forced to occupy the left wing despite the right being his preferred position.
But the biggest argument to start him against PSG in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday would be his crossing ability.
And while that’s a huge bonus, Tottenham will likely see less of the ball against the Parisiens than Arsenal – if that’s even possible.
With Bradley Barcola likely to start on the left wing for PSG, Spurs will need a defensive-minded right-back to challenge him. Thus, given his performance against Arsenal, Spence could be the right man for the job.
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