Pochettino gets tactics wrong as Spurs embarrassed on derby day

After building a strong run of form against Chelsea and Inter Milan, Tottenham came ill-prepared to the Emirates as Arsenal came out big winners.

Having battled back to take a halftime lead, Spurs came out the second half flat and uninspired, losing out 4-2 to bitter rivals Arsenal. Tottenham was outclassed in all areas of the pitch, struggling to gain any traction to pull a goal back. Jan Vertonghen’s 85′ red card ended any chance of a comeback.

Admittedly, Spurs were lucky to be in the match at all as their North London rivals controlled the tempo right from kickoff. Chasing the game for almost its entirety, Poche refused to change up the team, allowing Arsenal to absorb pressure and hold onto their lead. Harry Winks was needed around the 60 minute mark as Spurs were being ran out of the match, but no subs came for 20 more minutes. The inability to change the side cost Tottenham the points today, as the manager’s poor substitutions have in the past.

By the time Harry Winks and Lucas Moura were introduced, the game had passed by them, and they were able to have zero influence. Danny Rose also returned from injury to make small cameo, but also was hardly involved.

Pochettino interestingly picked Juan Foyth over the more experienced Toby Alderweireld. The choice did not pay off as the Argentine looked uncomfortable all game, with his mistake leading to Alexander Lacazette’s goal. While Foyth has came along way and is developing, with better centerbacks fit, the decision to play him was a head scratcher.

The gameplan Spurs set out to use was similar to the tactics against Chelsea. However, instead of changing up the system after it was found out, Spurs continued to play into Arsenal’s hands. This has also been a major shortcoming of Poche’s Tottenham. After plan A fails, there is no plan B in place.

With Spurs heading into the busiest stretch of the season, the whole squad and the manager must be at 100%. Tottenham host relegation strugglers Southampton on Wednesday and cannot afford to slip up again. There can be no stubbornness from the manager to switch up the style of play if the game goes south.

Tottenham will challenge for the top 4, but have to learn to adapt better as the league gets more and more difficult. Pochettino and his players must put this derby loss behind them and look toward the future. Southampton will be a great side to regain confidence against and with Barcelona, Arsenal again and Leicester coming up along with five other December games, this is the perfect time to hit the ground running for the rest of the season.