Igor Tudor endured a baptism of fire in his first game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur as Arsenal won the North London derby 4-1.
Randal Kolo Muani briefly silenced the Arsenal fans by cancelling out Eberechi Eze’s opener, but the respite was short-lived.
Eze completed his brace after the break, and Viktor Gyokeres followed suit with two goals of his own to seal a dominant 4-1 win for Mikel Arteta. Beyond Kolo Muani’s solo effort, the Spurs squad failed to deliver, as Arsenal marched to their fifth consecutive North London derby victory.
And now, two damning statistics involving some notable names have emerged that could rub salt into the wounds of everyone associated with Tottenham.
Tottenham’s miserable derby
Tudor opted to go with a 3-5-2 despite missing key players at the back as Joao Palhinha and Radu Dragusin played alongside Micky van de Ven.
Djed Spence and Archie Gray started as the wing-backs, while Conor Gallagher, Yves Bissouma, and Pape Sarr occupied the heart of the midfield.
Randal Kolo Muani led the line in Dominic Solanke’s absence, with the Englishman only fit enough for a place on the bench due to a throat problem. Xavi Simons started in a free role as he oscillated between midfield and attack based on the situation.
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And within the first few minutes of the game, it became apparent that it would be a long night for Tottenham as they defended sluggishly and failed to offer anything going forward.
WhoScored data behind Arsenal rout
According to WhoScored‘s rating system, three of the five worst-performing players from the Premier League weekend were all from Tottenham.
With a rating of 4.78/10, Spence was the worst-rated player across the league as he endured a torrid outing. He constantly gave the ball away and looked completely out of place as a left-wing back as Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber ran him ragged throughout the game.
Simons, on the other hand, tried his best to make things happen, but it just didn’t come off for him. The Dutch international finally found his feet last month, but Arsenal crushed his momentum as he slumped to a dismal 5.07 rating.
Meanwhile, transfer rumors continue to swirl around Guglielmo Vicario, who found himself in the thick of the action on Sunday. While he pulled off several decent saves, he failed to react quickly enough to stop Gyokeres’ sweet strike from distance in the second half.
Dragusin’s struggles laid bare
To make matters worse, a stat involving Dragusin also emerged after the game, which highlights just how badly things have gone for him at N17 so far.
He has started 24 Premier League games to date and has won just two of them, which were against Luton Town and Sheffield United. Neither of those two teams is in the Premier League currently, which is a clear sign that he isn’t cut out for the English top-flight.
With Cristian Romero suspended for two more games, Spurs have no choice but to go with Dragusin for their upcoming fixtures.
However, Kevin Danso could return this weekend, so we’ll have to wait and see if he replaces the Romanian in the XI.
