Three years in a row. Tottenham Hotspur have now lost at home to Arsenal three years on the bounce for the first time since the 1980s.
Ange Postecoglou’s side lined up against a slightly weakened but still dangerous Gunners outfit earlier this afternoon, and while they were able to create a few chances here and there, they failed to capitalise on any of them.
Much of the attention following the game will be on Guglielmo Vicario and his defenders for their inability to defend set pieces, but the attacker’s inability to score is just as much of an issue, and while he’s talented, Brennan Johnson was incredibly ineffective.
However, one of the Welshman’s fellow attackers was just as wasteful and underwhelming today.
Johnson's performance in numbers
Postecoglou opted to start his £47.5m attacker on the right wing this afternoon, and unfortunately, the 23-year-old did very little to justify that decision or quell the questions some in the fanbase have about his overall quality.
The “frustrating” talent, as dubbed by Jamie O’Hara, was up against Jurrien Timber until he was hooked in the 68th minute, and while he was able to progress the ball up the pitch here and there, he didn’t offer the Dutchman much of a challenge at all.
He was so poor that the i’s Evan Bartlett and Tom Ward awarded him a 5/10 after the match, writing that he ‘spurned a good chance to give Spurs the lead’ and, unsurprisingly, that he ‘needs to work on his end product.’
Minutes
68′
Expected Goals
0.27
Goals
0
Expected Assists
0.07
Assists
0
Shots on Target
1
Shots off Target
1
Shots Blocked
2
Dribbles (Successful)
1 (0)
Touches
25
Accurate Passes
13
Duels (Won)
6 (5)
Fouls
1
Dribbled Past
1
It might sound like a harsh appraisal, but it’s not, and his statistics from the game help to show that, as in his 68 minutes of action, he amassed an expected goals figure of 0.27, an expected assists figure of 0.07, took one shot on target and one off target, saw two shots blocked, failed in his one dribble, took just 25 touches, made 13 passes, lost five of six duels, committed a foul and was dribbled past.
In all, it was a day to forget for Johnson, but he can at least take solace in the fact that one of his teammates was just as ineffective as he was.
Dejan Kulusevski's performance in numbers
Yes, one of the other disappointing displays of the day came from the immensely talented Dejan Kulusevski, who started his 100th game for the club in the midfield.
Now, there were some bright moments in the Swede’s performance, such as the long-range effort in stoppage time and his general work rate, but overall, he was simply ineffective against a weakened midfield and didn’t perform to a level we know he can.
Bartlett and Ward were slightly more impressed with the former Juventus ace than his Welsh teammate, but not by much, as they still gave him just a 6/10, writing that he just ‘couldn’t unlock the defence.’
Unfortunately for the 24-year-old, his statistics from the match also make for some dismal reading and suggest that his rating is a kind one.
For example, in 95 minutes, he lost the ball 20 times, amassed an expected goal figure of 0.16 and an expected assist figure of just 0.11, took 49 touches, maintained a paltry passing accuracy of 68%, failed in all five of his crosses, took one shot on target, failed in 66% of his dribbles, lost 12 of 17 duels and was dribbled past three times.
Minutes
95′
Expected Goals
0.16
Goals
0
Expected Assists
0.11
Assists
0
Touches
49
Passing Accuracy
17/25 (68%
Crosses (Accurate)
5 (0)
Shots on Target
1
Dribbles (Successful)
3 (1)
Duels (Won)
17 (5)
Possession Lost
20
Dribbled Past
3
Ultimately, Kulusevski is a player who can deliver moments of magic, but against Arsenal today, he was ineffective and, at times, a liability in the midfield and, alongside Johnson, he let Postecoglou and the fans down.
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