Lamela and Dembéle Vie for the Same Spot at Tottenham

Fans might be forgiven for being a bit baffled at the difficult decision Tottenham are faced with upon the resumption of Premier League play: who should start, Mousa Dembélé or Érik Lamela?

Not too long ago – as recently as August – it was difficult to argue for either player’s inclusion in the squad. Dembélé had seemed more or less surplus to requirements, a relic of a bygone era for Tottenham. He made more appearances from the bench last season than starts, totaling 1140 minutes on the pitch. Even prior to Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival at the club last summer it seemed like the Belgian lacked a role in the squad. Was he a central or attacking midfielder? Is he a holder, a creator or a finisher? After three seasons at the club, it seemed like those questions had yet to have been answered.

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Lamela’s role was more defined at the club, though no less uncertain. He started much more regularly, almost exclusively from the right side of the attack. The Argentine’s issue – and what kept him from being the presumptive starter at the beginning of this season – is that his efforts were no where near living up to his exorbitant price tag. His skill was obvious, his workrate was beyond question. What he lacked is a palpable contribution to the outcome of games. He scored twice and set up seven goals last term – not exactly the production you’d expect for £30 million.

Pochettino evidently had plans for Dembélé though. He started Tottenham’s first four games of the season, and his inclusion was laced with intent rather than simple convenience. Nominally, he started on the right wing, the space Lamela had occupied for most of last season. His role was no where near Lamela’s, though. Instead of playing winger or being an advanced creator, he operated in the side almost entirely as the primary presser high up the pitch.

That might seem like yeoman’s work, or perhaps something that should be handled by the squad as a whole instead of one specific player. Dembélé proved himself particularly adept at it however and in performing that role almost exclusively he eased the burden on the rest of his attacking teammates. He was, in effect, a lever around which the attack would pivot from defense into attack in the opposition’s half. Even if it made Tottenham especially narrow on the right hand side, that was considered a worthy sacrifice for the benefits such precise pressing bestowed.

This role for Dembélé did not simply arise this season. For several games last season he played in a defensive number 10 role, most notably in the 2-1 win over Arsenal. It was in those games he proved himself capable of essentially being the embodiment of Pochettino’s philosophy on the pitch. If the Argentine manager were the god of this Tottenham team, Dembélé was slowly becoming his prophet.

When the Belgian succumbed to injury, it was Lamela who came into the side. His listless performance as a sub in earlier games made that move profoundly underwhelming, likely for fans and the club alike. Few could have expected that Lamela’s game would finally blossom. It began with his assist to Ryan Mason’s goal against Sunderland, matured in the Europa League opener against Qarabag FK and has hit its stride over Lamela’s last few games in lilywhite. It’s probably too early to say that Lamela is finally reaching expectations – but there certainly has been progress.

None of which is to imply that Lamela has been good for Tottenham the same way Dembélé has been good for Tottenham. Far from it. They play remarkable different roles, and there is no better evidence of this fact than the numbers themselves, all per WhoScored.

	Dembélé	Lamela
Shots per 90	1.2	2.7
Key Passes per 90	1.2	4.7
Passes per 90	52.4	40
Fouled per 90	1.2	2.7
Tackles per 90	4.8	3.4
Interceptions per 90	1.5	1.2
Fouls per 90	2.7	1.5

It’s plain to see when watching a game and from these numbers, but Lamela is the far more direct player than Dembélé. He is intricately involved in the attack, shooting more often than Nacer Chadli and providing more key passes – that is passes that directly lead to a shot – than Christian Eriksen. While he does track back and do some of the dirtier work of pressing and defending high up the pitch, his game is primarly offensive.

Dembélé, in contrast, has numbers that look more like a central midfielder than a right winger. His tackles and interception rates – not always an indication of how much pressing a player as actually doing – are not dramatically higher than Lamela’s. Rather, they are just high enough to fall in line with the relatively sparse offensive side of his game. His average positioning compared to Lamela is far narrower and far deeper.

So with both options now available to Pochettino for Tottenham after the conclusion of the international break, who does he pick? Is it simply a matter of conditions? Would Dembélé play against a side who is more likely to build play from the defense on up? Would Lamela feature against teams that are more likely to sit back, ones that might require a more sophisticated lockpicker?

Before his injury, Dembéle featured against both types of teams. With Lamela now putting up better numbers than anyone else in Tottenham’s attack though, that automatic starting spot should be called into question. As Eric Dier has matured and as Ryan Mason and Dele Alli have developed a knack for playing alongside him, there might simply be little need for an extra presence in midfield in most games, even a presence as refined to Pochettino’s methods as Dembéle’s.

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