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Tottenham player ratings vs Arsenal - Cristian Romero's costly error as Solanke shows promise

Dominic Solanke goes close for Tottenham vs Arsenal (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Tottenham Hotspur fell to a home defeat to Arsenal on Sunday in the first North London Derby of this Premier League season and here are our Spurs player ratings.

Spurs took on an Arsenal side missing the suspended Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino through injury. Postecoglou had Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke back in his starting XI, but was without Yves Bissouma, who returned from two goalscoring displays with Mali with a groin injury.

In his place in midfield, Postecoglou decided to use Rodrigo Bentancur in an attacking midfield alongside Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.

Spurs edged the first half with David Raya called upon to make a couple of saves to Guglielmo Vicario's one, while referee Jarred Gillett dished out seven yellow cards, five to Spurs and two to the visitors, with many of them harsh.

Tottenham continued to press forward in the second half but found themselves behind after the hour mark when Gabriel found too much space behind Cristian Romero to rise and head home Bukayo Saka's corner. The hosts huffed and puffed but were unable to find a way through.

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Here are our Tottenham player ratings:

Guglielmo Vicario

Saved well to get to Havertz's header before holding a Martinelli strike. Picked up a yellow card after confronting Timber after a challenge on Porro. Beaten by the power of Gabriel's header and there's an argument he could have been stronger himself from the corner. Didn't have much else to do in the game. 6

Pedro Porro

Tried to make things happen at both ends of the pitch and was one of Tottenham's better players. 7

Cristian Romero

Another game in which the World Cup winner has found himself at fault for a Spurs game. The rest of his performance was fine but in a crucial moment he switched off from a corner and Gabriel got in behind him to head home. He was pushed but he was never getting to the ball anyway. 5

Micky van de Ven

Spurs' best defender on the day and mopped up everything behind the backline to ensure the hosts could spend most of the performance in the Arsenal half. 8

Destiny Udogie

Started brightly before picking up a yellow card midway through the first half. That took away from his impact as the game wore on. 6

Dejan Kulusevski

Forced Raya into an early save with a shot from Son's pull back before one of his crosses went all the way through and the keeper had to push it away. Worked hard throughout and sent a late shot over the crossbar. 7

Rodrigo Bentancur

Played well on the whole but a first half yellow card hampered him slightly and he was taken off not long after the hour mark. 6

James Maddison

Had some bright moments, including a cross to Solanke in the first half, but ultimately didn't take a grip on the game and Spurs' playmaker was barely noticeable in the second half before he came off. 5

Brennan Johnson

Got up and down the right flank, running at Timber constantly, and swung in plenty of low crosses while having a couple of opportunities himself, one sent over and one weak and at Raya. 5

Dominic Solanke

Worked hard from the start and caused problems. Had an early shot blocked. Sent a looping header just past the left-hand post before the half-hour mark. Won the ball back early in the second half and had a header deflected wide. Worked tirelessly and was a strong mobile focal point for Tottenham but the service in to him needs to be better. 6

Son Heung-min

Teed up Kulusevski for an early chance and then pressed well to present a chance to Solanke. Flitted around the pitch as the game wore on but struggled to make an impact. 5

Subs

Pape Matar Sarr

Showed his mobility after a shaky first touch and tried to drive Spurs up the pitch. 6

Wilson Odobert

Huffed and puffed but wasn't able to find a way through. 5

Timo Werner

A poor cameo with no end product and one dreadful touch that he had to go across the pitch and save Spurs from himself. Even inadvertently blocked a late Sarr shot in the Arsenal box. 4

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