Tottenham will be in trouble if Ange Postecoglou sticks with £40m player against Arsenal - opinion

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Ange Postecoglou will be well aware that his Tottenham Hotspur side need to step things up for their upcoming North London derby against Arsenal.

Tottenham made a few changes against Tamworth in the FA Cup, but certainly not enough to justify their poor performance on the whole, at least prior to extra time.

James Maddison was something of a bright spark, but even he wasn't able to provide the winner despite his particularly good efforts in the first half.

And whilst Timo Werner was wasteful as ever with an excellent chance up top, it was perhaps one regular starter that caused most concern for Spurs.

With Djed Spence rested at left back and Sergio Reguilon coming in, Postecoglou had no such option on the right – he had to stick with Pedro Porro.

Pedro Porro struggles against Tamworth in FA Cup scare

Porro was up against Tamworth winger Beck-Ray Enoru on the right, who had the beating of him all afternoon in truth.

Chris Sutton predicted Tottenham’s defenders to struggle and the Spaniard, who cost Spurs £40m back in 2023, was being beaten inside and out by Enoru, who actually pulled up with a tight hamstring given all the running he was doing.

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Porro has always been something of a polarising figure in north London – at times he's as good as it gets for an inverted full-back, a truly excellent ball-striker.

However, when it comes to his defensive credentials, Porro is often found wanting.

Yves Bissouma was constantly bailing his teammate out of trouble on Tamworth's artificial pitch – Porro simply couldn't get to grips with Enoru.

And considering Spurs have a North London derby to contend with on Wednesday, Postecoglou could have serious issues at right-back.

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In an ideal world, the Tottenham manager might drop Porro against Arsenal, perhaps even trusting Spence as his right-back.

However, Postecoglou simply doesn't have the options available to him, predominantly because Destiny Udogie is injured.

Starting Reguilon again so Spence could play on the right simply wouldn't be the answer – that would cause more problems that it would solve.

But in addition to Porro often being dribbled past, the Spain international was also looking very suspect under Tamworth's set-pieces, a damning sight considering how much Arsenal focus on those situations.

Perhaps Porro will star against Arsenal – he's more than capable of winning Premier League matches on his best day.

But at his worst, Porro can be beaten all afternoon against Tamworth, as happened on Sunday.