‘Barely noticeable’: Tottenham’s £40M man slammed by the media for his performance vs Arsenal

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Tottenham Hotspur slipped to defeat in the North London derby as they were once again unable to convert possession and chances into goals.

Gabriel Magalhaes’ header in the second half proved decisive in the derby as the Gunners recorded a third straight win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Once again Spurs enjoyed the majority of possession and created 15 chances, however, they lacked any cutting edge to trouble the visitors.

It is becoming a very concerning theme for Ange Postecoglou’s side who are starting to lack any sort of decisiveness in the final third. Now, one of their key attacking threats has been slammed by the media for another poor performance.

James Maddison is once again ineffective vs Arsenal

James Maddison is being criticised for his lacklustre display in Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal.

The midfielder was again on the periphery of the game and struggled to create many quality chances for Spurs’ front line.

Arsenal are a superb team in defence but the 27-year-old needed to do so much more to impact the game given his status at the North London club.

Maddison was given a five out of 10 by Football.London, who wrote: “Had some bright moments, including a cross to Solanke in the first half, but ultimately didn’t take a grip on the game and Spurs’ playmaker was barely noticeable in the second half before he came off.”

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard gave him a slightly better score of six of 10, stating: “Saw plenty of the ball and made chances for Dominic Solanke and van de Ven with inswinging crosses. He might have been more decisive and bold in the final third, however.”

The Metro were not quite as generous and offered up the same score as Football.London. “Tasked with unlocking the door for Tottenham and couldn’t manage it. Misplaced a few final balls and could not find his way through the stubborn Arsenal defence,” stated the Metro.

Will Maddison ever become a consistent threat?

Before the match, Tottenham legend Rafael van der Vaart claimed that Maddison was lacking a ‘killer mentality’ and his performance against Arsenal showed that.

The former Leicester City man has struggled to produce any sort of level of consistency since his injury back in November of last year.

Question marks now seriously loom over Maddison as to whether Spurs can rely on him to be their main creative hub. At the moment, that answer is an emphatic no – he is far too inconsistent.