Victor Wanyama inspires Tottenham victory over Arsenal with authoritative midfield display

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North London is white this season as Tottenham beat Arsenal with relative ease at White Hart Lane. The victory confirmed that they will finish above their local rivals for the first time in 22 years. It is too soon to state that they are now the best team in North London, but this season has underlined that they are making progress under Mauricio Pochettino.

One player that has developed under the guidance of the Argentine head coach is Victor Wanyama. He has become a much better midfielder over the course of this season and he delivered a man-of-the-match performance on Sunday.

It was noticeable that the Kenyan midfielder had been given instruction to get forward on Sunday as he was often seen in more advanced positions than usual. There were two or three occasions where the 25-year-old led counter attacks with driving runs from deep.

He completed two dribbles during the match and showed that he has learned how to use his athleticism to his advantage. There were a couple of occasions where he was dispossessed, but he carried out his manager’s instructions to great effect and performed well in the transition phase.

In addition to his powerful runs from deep, his passing was accurate as shown by his pass success rate of 88%. After joining Tottenham, there were some doubts regarding his technical ability, but he has improved immeasurably.

There was one occasion during this match when he was leading the counter-attack before delivering an excellent through ball to create a clear-cut chance for Harry Kane. Although it didn’t lead to a goal, it was displayed impressive vision and skill. Pochettino will be hoping to see more of this from his midfield enforcer.

The 25-year-old is known for his ball-winning quality and he dominated the midfield area on Sunday. During the match, he completed five ball recoveries and made a further three clearances to help keep Arsenal at bay.

The Gunners’ midfield has been criticised this season and they were outclassed by Wanyama at White Hart Lane. He was constantly in the right position and showed that he is more than just a ball-winner.

The 25-year-old delivered what was an excellent midfield display. It was also impressive that he channelled his aggression in the right way and didn’t get too caught up in the occasion. At Southampton, his discipline was called into question, but he has learned to control it at Tottenham and he deserves credit for that.

Tottenham are making a reputation for themselves as a club that develops their players and Pochettino is the man responsible for that success. Wanyama was a good Premier League player at Southampton, but he has taken his game to a new level at White Hart Lane and has become one of the leading central midfielders in the league (see the English top flight’s best betting offers here).

He remains one of the best ball winners in the league and has now become much better in the transition phase. His passing and decision making on the ball have both come on a lot, which was evident against Arsenal.

Although it may have been a one-off tactical decision made to counteract the absence of Mousa Dembele, the Kenyan international showed he was capable of playing a different role.

Featured image: All rights reserved by Stuart MacFarlane