Tottenham Hotspur once again had to share points with Arsenal despite going two goals up in the first half. They conceded a late first-half goal from Alexandre Lacazette. And following the restart, they looked extremely vulnerable throughout the rest of the game.
In this article, we will discuss three things that went wrong for Mauricio Pochettino during his side’s disappointing performance against the Gunners.
Lack of solidity on the flanks
The lack of an out and out right-back genuinely hurt Tottenham in this fixture as makeshift option Davinson Sanchez clearly struggled to get to grips with his new role. The Colombian international always looked out of place when dealing with the threat of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He also looked fragile with possession and more often than not, allowed the Arsenal attackers to occupy the space available on the right flank. And while Sanchez was horrible, the left-back Danny Rose played his part in jeopardising Spurs’ defensive plan.
The English international was utterly deceived by the trickery and pace of Nicolas Pepe. His lack of competence dealing with the Ivorian offered the opposition a lot of space on the left flank, allowing them to dominate the game.
Zero creativity from midfielders
The midfield duo of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko showed tremendous work-ethic and tenacity to close down opponents. But, not only were they at a numerical disadvantage against Arsenal’s 4-3-3, but they also struggled to provide any sort of creativity to the table.
Sissoko, in particular, made a plethora of tackles. But, the Frenchman looked extremely fragile with the ball, ending up becoming Tottenham’s weak point in possession. As a result, he often got isolated or outnumbered whenever he received the ball.
As for Winks, he showed some promise. But at the same time, Spurs were missing the dynamic presence of Tanguy Ndombele.
Playing a risky four at the back
Arsenal boast one of the most well-rounded midfield units in the Premier League, especially with players like Dani Ceballos, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi among many others. And with that in mind, deploying a 4-2-3-1 was a massive risk from Pochettino.
As mentioned earlier, it essentially offered Arsenal numerical superiority in midfield. And due to the absence of the additional midfielder, Spurs struggled, trying to keep hold of possession. They also lacked a proper transition from midfield to attack, especially in the second half, when Christian Eriksen’s influence gradually started to wane. Hence, it would perhaps have been wiser for Pochettino to employ a three at the back setup, with two wingbacks.
