Jamie Carragher’s analysis highlights how Pochettino is missing Victor Wanyama – and fans agree

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Tottenham Hotspur are missing midfielder Victor Wanyama.

Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday, as goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez swooped to score at the Emirates Stadium.

Spurs made the short trip to the Emirates Stadium in search of three points, but fell flat in a poor display against their bitter rivals, leading many pundits to criticise their performance.

Jamie Carragher was one such pundit, who told Sky Sports on Monday Night Football that Tottenham’s pressing was far too aggressive, leaving them open to attacks from Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette.

Carragher also highlighted that the high pressing mean that Mousa Dembele and Moussa Sissoko were chasing the ball and not holding their position in front of the back four, meaning the Spurs back three were exposed, giving Ozil more space to create.

Whilst the likes of Dembele, Sissoko and Harry Winks have featured this season, Carragher’s analysis and Tottenham’s performance highlighted that Mauricio Pochettino is missing one man – Victor Wanyama.

Pochettino showed just how much he values Wanyama by reuniting with him in 2016, having worked together at Southampton, and immediately gave the Kenyan star a prominent role in the Spurs midfield.

Wanyama may not be the most technically-gifted midfielder, but he knows how to hold his position and protect the back four, whilst his power and tackling ability make him a force in front of the defence, whilst also possessing the ability to press at the right time.

Wanyama is currently out with a knee injury sustained back in August, and it’s unclear just when he will be returning, but Tottenham’s lack of a true defensive midfielder was apparent against Arsenal, and Pochettino may need to look at finding cover in that specific role in January.

With no set date on a return, Spurs fans are understandably concerned, and even took to Twitter to note that Spurs are desperately missing Wanyama right now, especially in big away games where he can sit back and allow Spurs to play their game on the road – and with Spurs fans seemingly in agreement that Wanyama was a huge miss, many may wonder how the result could have been different if he had played.