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Tottenham star forces major Ange Postecoglou change after £8.5m transfer masterstroke

Lucas Bergvall caught the eye for Tottenham in their defeat at Arsenal
-Credit:Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images


Lucas Bergvall was a rare positive on a night to forget for Tottenham in the North London Derby. Spurs' wretched run in the derby continued on Wednesday evening following a 2-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

Taking the lead through Son Heung-min's deflected effort on 25 minutes, two goals in the space of four minutes just prior to the break tipped the game in Arsenal's favour. Firstly, the Gunners levelled after Gabriel Magalhaes' header from a corner struck Dominic Solanke on the chest and went in, before Leandro Trossard then took full advantage of some poor play from the visitors to give the hosts the lead.

Tottenham couldn't restore parity in what remained of the game, with Pedro Porro's cross from a tight angle striking the outside of the post in the final seconds of the contest. Tottenham's 11th defeat of the Premier League season leaves them in 13th position after 21 games, four points adrift of Brentford in 10th.

READ MORE: 'Criminal' Ange Postecoglou problem exposed after Tottenham North London Derby defeat

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Going into the North London Derby with a decision to make in midfield, Ange Postecoglou opted for a midfield trio of Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall to take on Arsenal. It came as no surprise to see the Swede named in the starting XI after wowing in his previous two starts against Newcastle United and Liverpool, with the player also bright when called upon from the bench in last Sunday's FA Cup win over Tamworth.

Always going to take time to adapt to the pace and intensity of the Premier League following his move from Djurgarden, Tottenham fans are now seeing exactly why the club were so intent on concluding an £8.5million deal for the teenager at the start of last year. The 18-year-old is now flourishing in the Spurs team and growing in stature with each passing week.

Bergvall is no longer just an option from the bench for Postecoglou, he is very much now in the mix to be a regular starter for the football club. In fact, you could even argue that he is one of the first names on the teamsheet for Spurs right now given what he is offering in the middle of the park.

Ahead of the North London Derby, football.london asked the Spurs boss if the starlet is now in a position where he can start every game.

"Yeah, look, he's definitely growing, which is not unusual. He's 18, coming from a different country and league. It was always going to take him time to adapt, just to training more than anything else. But we've seen in recent weeks he's really making an impact now and I think he feels more comfortable and confident in himself.

"There's so much more to come from him with his age and where he is experience-wise. It's been a big year for him, moving to a new country and a big league and a big club. Even playing for the senior national team with Sweden as an 18-year-old.

"All these things are pretty significant moments and you look at how young people handle them and he's handled it all really, really well. He's kept his head down, kept working, waited for his opportunity and he's doing well."

Starting against Arsenal in a more advanced midfield role before playing as a No.6 following Bissouma's half-time exit, the Stockholm-born player took everything in his stride as he delivered a good showing in his first North London Derby. Making the most tackles (four) in the match and also winning the most duels (11), Bergvall registered a 93 per cent pass completion rate after completing 37 of his 40 passes, he made three passes into the final third, he was successful with two of his three dribbles and he contributed 15 defensive actions in total.

Very much one of the Spurs players to come out of the game with any credit along with Archie Gray and Djed Spence, the aforementioned trio are showing up some of the senior stars at present with their performances in Tottenham's hour of need. Asked by football.london in his post-match press conference if the displays from Bergvall and Gray are at least a positive he can take from the loss, the Australian revealed that he hopes the teenagers "are hurting" after the team suffered another defeat.

"I hope not. I want them disappointed," he admitted. "This can’t be accepted by anyone at the club. Us losing so many games in a league season is not right. I know we are going through a tough trot and are asking big jobs but I hope they are hurting, the 18-year-olds, as much as anybody else in terms of us not being able to deliver on a big night."

Attention now turns to Sunday's game at Goodison Park against David Moyes' Everton side. It is a huge match in Tottenham's calendar and one they must take all three points from as there's a real possibility they could go into the encounter 15th in the league standings.

Needing his players to stand up and be counted, Bergvall is certainly a player Postecoglou can rely on right now. He is very much deserving of his starting spot in the Tottenham team and it appears that he's on his way to making himself an undroppable.

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