Hoddle and Jenas hammer normally-reliable Tottenham player in defeat to Arsenal

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Both Glenn Hoddle and Jermaine Jenas have given the same criticism when discussing Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, following the Dane’s struggling midfield performance against Arsenal on Sunday.

Hojbjerg, 25, has been a magnificent signing for Tottenham since he arrived from Southampton in the summer. Despite the 2020-21 campaign being his first season in North London, Hojbjerg has already managed 42 outings.

But on Sunday, he was somewhat below par. The ex-Bayern Munich man was out of position, though clearly, he was being pulled around covering Matt Doherty. However, he failed to get on the ball much – sloppy for his standards.

Indeed, both Jenas and Hoddle reacted to his performance by dishing out the same criticism on the holding midfielder. Both claimed he was “nowhere to be seen”, while Hoddle also claimed Harry Kane was “awful”.

Hoddle told Optus Sport: “Harry Kane had an awful day, as Spurs did on the day. I don’t think anyone was hiding. Hojbjerg is normally one of the most-consistent players Spurs have had this season. He was nowhere to be seen, on the ball or defensively. The whole collective team just wasn’t at it.”

Jenas in his BBC Sport column: “Hojbjerg was nowhere to be seen during Sunday’s game, but he was not the only one. There was just poor performance after poor performance all over the pitch. It was so disappointing.”

TBR’s view – Hojbjerg display just a blip

The midfielder has proven that he is more than reliable both in possession and a defensive shield for the back four. Given that he has already clocked up 42 appearances for Spurs this season, he is okay to have an off day.

Unfortunately, that off day came in one of Spurs’ biggest performances of the season. On a day when Spurs needed their biggest players, Son Heung-min went off injured and Kane, Hojbjerg and Gareth Bale all struggled.