Tottenham Hotspur bounced back from a dull draw with Bournemouth by beating Arsenal yesterday.
Tottenham came from behind to beat the Gunners at home despite the eerie atmosphere behind closed doors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs more than made up for the lack of noise, though, after Toby Alderwereild’s late header gave them the victory in the North London derby.
The Lilywhites have leaked goals for fun throughout the season and it didn’t stop on Sunday as Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring for Arsenal, although the win is all that matters at the moment. Jose Mourinho’s side had been having a torrid time on the pitch, as they lost to Sheffield United, edged past Everton and couldn’t beat Bournemouth.
Amid all the celebrations, one talking point stood out from the rest as Tanguy Ndombele was once again left on the bench. The club’s record signing didn’t feature at all during the game against their biggest rivals.
Mourinho tellingly gave Oliver Skipp a chance instead, as the 19-year-old came on to replace Giovani Lo Celso.
Without taking anything away from the team’s performance, the hotly-contested derby was crying out for a player to swing the game in Tottenham’s favour as Arsenal enjoyed a greater share of the possession, and it took Alderweireld until the latter stages of the game to score the decider.
Ndombele’s class is evident for all to see, as he has saved his best performances for the Champions League, although Mourinho still doesn’t seem to trust him. The Portuguese is frustrated by a lack of creativity in the midfield, but Ndombele has only played 64 minutes since the Premier League restart.
Le10 Sport has reported that Bayern Munich are prepared to offer Ndombele a way out. The Bundesliga champions are lining up a loan move for the Frenchman, as they have done in the past with James Rodriguez and Philippe Coutinho.
However, Daniel Levy has made it clear that he is not for sale, as he is convinced he will eventually live up to his £55m price tag. He is adamant that Ndombele will not be part of any negotiations, which is bad news for Mourinho.
The Spurs duo have a strained relationship, which has been well-documented in recent weeks, as per Football Insider. According to The Athletic, they don’t understand each other and Ndombele is fed up with Mourinho’s constant criticism.
The head coach may have to swallow his pride and use the French international more often to appease the chairman. Whether or not that will actually happen is another matter entirely.
Tottenham fans, do you think Mourinho should give Tanguy Ndombele another chance? Let us know your views below!
