Tottenham progressed in the EFL Cup this week with their midweek victory at home to League One club Doncaster Rovers. Afterwards, Spurs youngster Archie Gray was a big talking point within the fanbase.
On Wednesday night, Tottenham produced a professional display to beat Doncaster 3-0 at home.
Thomas Frank’s side will travel to St James’ Park to face Premier League rivals Newcastle United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Frank made seven changes to his Spurs starting line-up against Doncaster, including a return to the XI for Archie Gray. The versatile 19-year-old talent slotted into the side in central midfield again.
Gray, who wears the 14 shirt, played all across defence and midfield last term under Ange Postecoglou’s management, but it looks like he’s competing for a spot in the centre of the park this season.
Tottenham fans hail Archie Gray performance
Spurs fans on X agreed that Gray was outstanding in midfield during the cup win against Doncaster.
One fan wrote: “Archie Gray has been phenomenal.”
“Archie Gray has been excellent. Strong running and good combination play,” another posted.
One supporter commented: “Archie Gray looking incredible in this game.”
“Archie Gray is a SCARY talent. He has all the characteristics to be one of the best midfielders of the next 10 years,” another said.
The biggest challenge for Gray will be cementing a central midfield spot in the best Spurs XI because he faces stiff competition from the likes of Joao Palhinha, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr.
We do expect him to play pretty regularly this campaign due to the incredible volume of fixtures across all competitions.
Incidentally, Spurs are interested in signing Leeds United’s Harry Gray, Archie’s brother, so that is a story to watch out for.
Archie Gray statistics vs Doncaster Rovers
FOTMOB has provided the individual stats from Gray’s performance in midfield against Doncaster this week.
- Minutes played – 90
- Total shots – 1
- Chances created – 1
- Accurate passes – 26/29 (90%)
- Touches – 43
- Successful dribbles – 1/1 (100%)
- Dispossessed – 1
- Tackles – 1
- Dribbled past – 0
- Ground duels won – 4/6 (67%)
- Aerial duels won – 0/2 (0%)
- Was fouled – 2
- Fouls committed – 1
- Match rating – 7.1
Next, Spurs host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday night in the Premier League, who have lost five out of five so far in the top flight this season.
Sarr was absent against Doncaster because of a minor precaution, so it will be intriguing to see if the midfield powerhouse is back in time for Wolves. If not, Gray would definitely make sense as an alternative starter in the middle.
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