Spurs player ratings vs Arsenal – Awful at set-pieces yet again

Tottenham made it three defeats in their last three North London Derbies at their home stadium this afternoon, falling to a toothless 1-0 loss at the hands of Arsenal.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players got on at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

A disappointing afternoon for Tottenham against Arsenal

Gugliemo Vicario – 5 – He has been better from set-pieces this season but seemed more concerned with pushing Arsenal players than keeping his eye on the ball today. Made a few decent saves throughout the 90 though.

Pedro Porro – 6 – At least tried to make things happen down the right and in the pockets, but wasn’t at his best. Some of his deliveries today were really wasteful.

Cristian Romero – 4 – Disappointing beyond belief. For a player many consider to be among the best in the world, he has to learn how to defend set-pieces. His passing today was also slow, uninventive, and misplaced.

Micky Van de Ven – 7 – Tottenham’s best defender by far. Struggled to pass out from the back like everyone else, but he pulled off some great clutch defending on the cover. It could have been two or three to Arsenal without him.

Destiny Udogie – 4 – Struggled to contain Saka in the first half and picked up an early booking which didn’t help. Offered nothing going the other way beyond sideways passes.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 5 – Started the game well and kept Spurs ticking over. Struggled to actually drive Tottenham up the pitch or move the ball fast enough to the channels to stretch Arsenal though.

Dejan Kulusevski – 7 – Tottenham’s most dangerous player. Tottenham’s only dangerous player. He didn’t get as many touches of the ball as others, but he at least tried to make things happen. Went close with a late shot from range and danced into the box on the attack a few times.

James Maddison – 4 – Spurs miss a creative spark in games like this. When you think about what Harry Kane used to achieve when he dropped deep into the pockets, that should be Maddison’s entire job but he created little to nothing today.

Brennan Johnson – 5 – Grew into the game a little in the second half but the bar was low from the first 45. Seems deathly afraid of actually taking his man on these days.

Dominic Solanke – 5 – Some really nice hold up play and passing in the final third, particularly in the first 20 minutes. But he was so wasteful in front of goal. Spurs’ best two chances fell to Solanke and he hesitated both times – which you can’t do at this level.

Heung-Min Son – 4 – Completely absent today. As the captain in the North London Derby, he needed to show more.

Substitutes:

Pape Matar Sarr – 5 – Added more legs in the final 30 minutes but the pivot role is not his best. Perhaps he should have started the match for his pressing ability.

Wilson Odobert – 6 – Looked more lively than Brennan Johnson by far, but his end product fell short of what Spurs needed.

Timo Werner – 5 – Had a couple of lively moments, but couldn’t create any chances.

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