Ange Postecoglou gives his verdict on Dominic Solanke’s performance vs Arsenal

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou will certainly be disappointed with his side’s failure to yield anything from a home tie against a weakened Arsenal team on Sunday.

Tottenham enjoyed some good moments in the North London derby, but were ultimately not able to sustain any period of pressure, and were undone by one of their obvious weaknesses.

Guglielmo Vicario has never been convincing from opposition corners, and after flapping at one delivery in the first half, the Italian seemingly then decided not to bother for Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal.

It’s an issue, one that Postecoglou will need to fix on the training pitch or eventually in the transfer market.

That being said, Spurs did take to the market to sign Dominic Solanke this summer, who returned from injury against Arsenal.

Dominic Solanke was lacking ‘belief and conviction’ against Arsenal

Solanke failed to score, or even shoot when presented with Tottenham’s best chance of the game – Ben White was expertly pressed into a poor pass across his goal in the first half.

That being said, Postecoglou spoke about Solanke’s performance at his press conference via football.london after the game.

READ MORE: Kai Havertz says what Tottenham do a lot after Arsenal beat them in North London derby

The Spurs boss was happy with his new striker’s work-rate, but felt he lacked the required cutting-edge, just like those around him.

Postecoglou said: “I thought Dom worked hard but, like I said, he hasn’t played for over a month, only his second game of the year.

“I just thought there were a lot of odd times where, you know, if we just had a bit more belief and conviction in that front third that we could have made so much more with our play to create really good opportunities.

“Even the ones we did, you know, we didn’t again, like I said, we lacked some real conviction in their execution to really make the most of them.”

James Maddison is sitting far too deep for Tottenham

Among Spurs’ issues right now, it’s worth taking a look at James Maddison’s performances so far this campaign.

Maddison was good at times against Arsenal, he often picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch and shielded it well before redistributing the play.

In fact, Maddison even delivered some excellent balls into the box – but are Tottenham getting the most out of him whilst he’s playing so deep?

Given Rodrigo Bentancur was operating as a single-pivot against Arsenal, Maddison was needed in deeper areas to offer support.

But that role effectively nullifies his goal threat, which is a strong part of his game.

Paul Merson wasn’t impressed by Maddison for Tottenham, and it does feel as if something needs to be slightly altered.

As mentioned by Postecoglou, Tottenham were lacking a cutting-edge in front of goal, something the England midfielder is known for.