Leaving out Alderweireld for North London Derby backfired badly on Pochettino

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Toby Alderweireld’s relationship with Mauricio Pochettino was bumpy at times last season – and initially, it looked certain that the Belgian would leave north London in the summer – but the situation has improved dramatically since the transfer window closed.

The central defender has been involved in all of Tottenham’s Premier League matches since the start of the season as their defence has remained largely solid as Pochettino’s frontline has stuttered, faced with post-World Cup fatigue.

After a busy week that included victories over Chelsea and Inter Milan, Pochettino took the decision to drop Alderweireld to the bench for yesterday’s North London Derby clash with Arsenal.

Juan Foyth and Jan Vertonghen were trusted at the heart of the Spurs defence but both men struggled badly as the Gunners ran out 4-2 winners; overhauling a 2-1 half time deficit to show their strength in the second half of a game once more.

But Alderweireld’s usually unflappable Belgian team-mate had a poor game, giving away the penalty that allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to open the scoring before being sent off in the second half.

Foyth struggled with the scale of the occasion, making an awful error in possession to allow Alexandre Lacazette to put the Gunners 3-2 ahead.

All afternoon, both men struggled with the movement of the Arsenal front two, and when a defender of Alderweireld’s quality is sat on the bench while all that goes on, the manager’s decision to drop him must be questioned.