Tottenham pay for pragmatic approach in defeat in north London derby

17/03/21 3040

On Sunday afternoon, Arsenal recorded a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Tottenham in the north London derby. Like most derby matches the game could have gone either way at kick-off. However, Arsenal richly deserved the win in the end.

The sending off of Argentinian attacking midfielder Erik Lamela did not help Spurs in their pursuit of taking anything home from the Emirates Stadium.

Jose Mourinho’s team had headed into the game on the back of a stellar run of form, especially in front of goal, as the likes of Harry Kane, Heung Min-Son and Gareth Bale had all produced big contributions in recent wins.

However, in typically Mourinho style in these big games, he played in a pragmatic manner, which led to Spurs being far less threatening and played into the hands of Arsenal.

The strategy has worked wonders for the Portuguese head coach in the past. This time around it lead to a stifling of his team’s top attacking players.

An early injury to Son did not help the visitors either, as it took away a vital part of their attacking strategy in the pace of the South Korean international. Son is the perfect player to play in a team attempting to hit their opposition on the counter-attack.

A victory at their north London rivals would have boosted Tottenham’s chances of earning Champions League football for next season. Mourinho’s team are now six points adrift of fourth-place Chelsea, although they do have a game in hand on their capital rivals.

The derby illustrated that the current Spurs squad do not get great results when attempting a more cautious game plan. They are definitely a better team when let off the leash.

The fact that Kane and Bale were anonymous against the Gunners, having previously been so influential in recent games showed why they should play on the front foot.