It was a very difficult night for Tottenham Hotspur’s Matt Doherty on Sunday.
Doherty was given the nod over right-back Serge Aurier for Spurs’ trip to North London rivals Arsenal.
But the Emirates Stadium side exploited the Republic of Ireland international all evening.
The Gunners’ equaliser came shortly before the half-time whistle when Kieran Tierney deceived Doherty and fizzed in the cross which Martin Odegaard swiped home.
Even before that, Mikel Arteta’s side – and Tierney – looked to be targeting the former Wolves man in a big way and Lee Dixon, speaking to NBC Sport, claims that Doherty was just completely bewildered by what was happening.
He said: “Doherty hasn’t worked it out yet. He looks like he’s a little bit confused by the situation. He’s not got near Tierney once. Twice now the left-back’s got into a dangerous position.”
Tottenham, who spent £15 million on Doherty last summer, have done themselves no favours on this front.
The Lilywhites have needed a top-quality replacement for Kyle Walker since 2017 and several right-backs have come in, but nobody quite comes close to the Manchester City defender.
Doherty has had some good games, but this performance illustrates that he can be quite easily exploited and Mourinho might go back to using Aurier who, if we’re honest, isn’t actually much better.
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