Player Ratings: Spurs 1-2 Arsenal

It wasn’t a great North London derby to watch, coupled by the fact we lost to our bitter rivals Arsenal, the old enemy, in the cup. The reaction on social media was large as it always is with Tottenham, but this reaction was one of anger mixed with confusion in Mauricio Pochettino changing a winning team, with some claiming that he didn’t understand the importance of this game. Now, I’m sure that isn’t the case, but Pochettino did make some mistakes in his selection, making wholesale changes. But who played better than others? Who shone in an otherwise dire North London Derby? Let’s find out, shall we?

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Michel Vorm- 6

Vorm had a solid game, but his parry to the feet of Mathieu Flamini is one glaring mistake he made on an otherwise solid game. On another day, in the lead up to the goal he would have tipped it away from goal, but unfortunately, that had to be the one time Flamini was running into the box to pounce.

Kieran Trippier- 6

Solid enough game, without making any game changing mistakes, but without attacking with much threat either. I still rate Trippier, and I feel a lot more secure defensively with him rather than Walker, but maybe we need to start seeing the Trippier we saw at Burnely.

Federico Fazio- 2

Shouldn’t be near the team, let alone a North London Derby. I don’t actually think he can kick a ball, run, or quite frankly defend. Fazio is a shocking player, but blame for this selection is solely at the feet of Pochettino. Don’t understand why he played Fazio instead of, well anyone?

Kevin Wimmer- 6

Wimmer didn’t play to badly, but he is guilty by association at Centre-Back for this one. His “partnership” with Fazio was abysmal, but at least Wimmer is getting valuable game time at the back, which is the only way he can develop.

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Danny Rose- 7

A good threat down that left hand side, Rose exposed the weaknesses left by Campbell and Debuchy, but couldn’t get the finishing touch sometimes. Rose is really looking top draw this season, and if he keeps playing this way, then he can only improve as time goes on. Let’s remember, he played in a shoddy backline against Arsenal, so wait to judge until he plays a good run of games with our first choice back line.

Eric Dier-6

Dier is really playing well at the holding midfield position, but in modern football the holding midfielder needs to do a bit more than just win the ball. We all know how good Dier is when it comes to defensive battles, but his ball playing skills and key passing may need to improve to be a starter for the whole season. Saying that, he is still doing a mighty fine job considering we signed him to be a centre back.

Tom Carroll- 4

Carroll has a lot of potential, but as I think I have said before, maybe he just isn’t made for the Tottenham starting eleven. He looked out of his depth in the middle against a weaker Arsenal team, and his passing wasn’t up to standard. Maybe it is harsh to criticise him, but Ryan Mason made his debut against Arsenal last season, and was twice the player Carroll was in their respective games.

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Andros Townsend- 5

Frustrating to say the least, but he showed glimpses of what he could potentially do when given the chance, but he didn’t show them well enough. We know he can be a great winger, but if his head is in the game, and his end product is up to scratch, then he can be great. Unfortunately, this game wasn’t to be one of those games for Andros.

Christian Eriksen- 5

I will cut Eriksen some slack here seeing as it was his first start since his lay off, but I hardly remember hearing his name mentioned? A shadow of his usual self, Eriksen looked to be laboring in the second half, but he did show some good passes, and good reasons why he is always one of our top performers.

Nacer Chadli- 4

Chadli started off the game in full swing, attacking with pace and looking like he could be a right handful, but he lost interest when he realised it was going to be a tough game, especially when Arsenal opened the scoring. I like Chadli, and I believe he is a key player, but he has way too many games where he can go missing, and this game was no different. Chadli is, and can be, a top player, he just needs to fancy the game and that is so annoying to me.

Harry Kane- 6

Again, another game goes by without a goal from Harry Kane. But we saw that he is getting close to that goal, despite how long it may take. His runs, his build up play, and his efforts (especially the overhead kick that was cleared off the line) are signs that Kane is coming back, but maybe it will be a long haul effort, but I can bet that when the 1st goal goes in, the rest will come. Just like a London bus, you could say!