After a tightly contested first half, Tottenham upped their game significantly after the break and ran out 2-0 winners against Arsenal in the last ever north London derby at White Hart Lane. So how did the hosts perform individually?
Hugo Lloris, 6
Put his defenders under pressure with some dodgy passing but generally had a comfortable afternoon, only stretched once by a tricky Aaron Ramsey effort.
Kieran Trippier, 6
Didn’t deliver any meaningful crosses and was initially inaccurate with his passes. Gradually improved, but many would have preferred to see Kyle Walker starting at right-back.
Toby Alderweireld, 8
A rock at the back as usual. Doesn’t need to make tackles to prevent the opposition from getting through — he’s simply always in the right place at the right time.
Jan Vertonghen, 9
A man of the match display. Brought the ball out from the back brilliantly and completely nullified Arsenal. Would have scored two cracking goals if not for Petr Cech.
Ben Davies, 7
Was allowed to stroll past his marker — the incomparably negligent Mesut Ozil — on numerous occasions, but his final ball was poor. Made up for it with some brave defending in the second half.
Eric Dier, 7
Transitioned seamlessly between centre-back and central midfield; mostly impressed in the more advanced role, where he could slow down the tempo when things got frantic.
Victor Wanyama, 8
Gave the ball away needlessly a couple of times in the opening stages, but grew into the game and became instrumental to the victory, constantly driving forward and pressing Arsenal ruthlessly.
Christian Eriksen, 8
Missed a golden chance to put Spurs ahead but didn’t let it get him down. His dribble and shot instigated the opening goal, and his corners were far better than usual.
Dele Alli, 8
Like Eriksen, Alli missed a first half sitter — but it didn’t matter. Scored the crucial opener, again showcasing his ability to anticipate where the ball will drop when it’s loose in the box.
Heung-Min Son, 8
Put in a excellent shift, driving at Arsenal whenever possible and not giving their defenders a moment’s rest on the ball. Always offered an outlet for counter-attacks.
Harry Kane, 7
Won the penalty and converted it beautifully. Looked laboured in the final 30 minutes as a result of all his hard work. Would have scored a couple more with a better touch.
Substitutes
Mousa Dembele, N/A
Replaced Son with 11 minutes left to add a bit of control in the final stages.
Kyle Walker, N/A
Played just two uneventful minutes plus stoppage time.
Moussa Sissoko, N/A
Brought on at the death to run down the clock.
Well done. However – how many of you notice that despite some brilliant saves over the games gone by, Lloris is the weak link? He causes unnecessary panic at the back by holding on to the ball too long and passing it short and 95% absolute poor distribution. A good keeper gives confidence to the defense….. you will say we have the best defense? Put it this way – we could be masters with a keeper who commands the back 4! (with the class of Jennings- Clemance ,,,) OK.
You mean, with a great goalie we could have the best defence in the league? Oh, wait 🙂
Seriously, though, you exaggerate. I suspect he is following instructions and being pressed to rush some passed is just par for the course. And most importantly all players are an aggregate of strengths and weaknesses, and as a whole Lloris is a genuinely top notch keeper – which is probably why he is captain of the team that is second in the league with the best defence. Even if he occasionally misplaces the out ball when pressurised.
Clemence was not top class. He looked the business with Liverpool, who had a great defence, but when he came to Spurs it became apparent that he had relied on Liverpool defenders keeping the opponents restricted to long range efforts, he panicked under pressure. Jennings though was the best keeper I ever saw, unfair to compare others him. Loris better than Clemence by a country mile.