'I watched him': Jamie O'Hara says Tottenham player kept 'hiding' from the ball during 1-0 NLD defeat
09/16/2024 05:45 AM
Tottenham delivered a very disappointing display on Sunday as Arsenal recorded a 1-0 win in N17.
Ange Postecoglou watched his side struggle to create many chances against an Arsenal side who were without two key components in Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, with many of his players looking quite overawed by the occasion, in truth.
One Tottenham player – however – seemed more frightened than most, as Jamie O’Hara noticed…
Jamie O’Hara criticises Brennan Johnson
Speaking on talkSPORT at 9:08am on Monday morning, the man who made 56 appearances for Spurs accused Brennan Johnson of “hiding” from the ball against Arsenal.
O’Hara said: “Brennan Johnson. Miles off it, honestly miles off it. Hides, hides behind players. I watched him, I was there yesterday. Hiding. We signed him for £50m.”
While the man from Dartford often comes out with some woeful takes – both on talkSPORT and social media – he is well and truly correct on this occasion.
Johnson rarely made any threatening runs in behind the Arsenal backline, and when the Wales international did find himself in a promising area, he often blazed the ball high over the crossbar, or sent a feeble effort into David Raya’s gloves.
Before Postecoglou replaced the Welshman with Wilson Odobert in the 68th minute, SofaScore shows that the Tottenham No.22 lost possession on three occasions, recorded just one successful dribble, and only had one shot on target, which was the aforementioned pea roller of a strike into Raya’s gloves.
He also completed just 13 passes, on an afternoon where he was largely anonymous against the Gunners.
On Sunday, O’Hara also complained about Johnson live from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on X, so he is clearly far from happy with the forward, to say the least.
Tottenham need more from the Wales international
For a £50m signing, Johnson has to deliver more.
The man born in Nottingham has only scored five goals in 38 appearances for Tottenham since his move from Nottingham Forest back in September 2023, and while he has never exactly been a prolific goalscorer, he has to find a way to make a stronger impact during games.
Johnson is rapid, so he could cause real issues running in behind, although this is yet to become a key feature of his game in north London for whatever reason.
Of course, that is not solely down to the 23-year-old.
For such an expensive signing, Postecoglou needs to have a clear vision of how to utilise Johnson more effectively as well, but as things stand, it looks like the youngster has absolutely no idea what to do out on the pitch.
