Michael Dawson has admitted he was ‘surprised’ to see one key Tottenham Hotspur player miss out on the starting XI against Arsenal.
Tottenham gave themselves a mountain to climb in today’s North London Derby.
Ange Postecoglou’s men trailed 3-0 at halftime after goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, as well as a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal.
Set-pieces have proven to be Tottenham’s Achilles heel under Postecoglou this season and his side were undone by two corners in the opening period.
Spurs did threaten to mount what would have been one of the most memorable comebacks in the derby’s history.
Cristian Romero grabbed one back for Spurs just after the hour mark before Heung-Min Son cut the deficit to one from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.
Postecoglou sprung a few surprises with his team selection today, with Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur getting the nod in midfield. And Michael Dawson was surprised at one of the Aussie’s decisions today.
Dawson surprised Pape Matar Sarr didn’t start
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, Dawson discussed Postecoglou’s choice to leave Pape Matar Sarr out in midfield.
“I am surprised Pape Sarr didn’t come in for the legs,” the former Spurs man said. “I think Arsenal are going to have a lot of the ball. He gets around, Pape Sarr.
“The experience that Pierre has, controlling Odegaard because, for me, Odegaard is huge in this football match. He creates, he dictates, and they have to try and stop him.”
Sarr’s stats vs Arsenal
Sarr replaced Bentancur at halftime today and it’s fair to say the Senegalese international made an impact. Bentancur didn’t enjoy his best 45 minutes and Sarr provided real energy in midfield.
The 21-year-old picked up a 7.2 rating from Sofascore, making him the highest-rated Tottenham midfielder on the day.
- 45 minutes played
- 26/26 passes completed
- 1 key pass
- 3/5 ground duels won
- 3 interceptions
- 2 tackles
It was a disappointing afternoon for Spurs but they can take some pride in their performance. They fought back in the second half when many teams would have possibly folded.
Tottenham ultimately paid the price for poor defending from set-pieces and gave themselves too much to do after going 3-0 down.
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