The Tottenham defender’s lack of discipline and positional sense could prove costly.
While winning the Premier League this season will certainly be a very difficult task for Tottenham Hotspur given the excellent form of Manchester City, Mauricio Pochettino’s side can at least claim to be the dominant side in North London at present.
Going into Saturday’s North London Derby at Emirates Stadium Tottenham are three places and four points ahead of rivals Arsenal, with the tantalising prospect of being able to extend that advantage to seven points with a victory.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino must wait to see which of his many injury doubts will be available but whatever options he can call upon, the Argentine must think carefully when considering whether to deploy Serge Aurier from the outset.
Aurier has struggled for consistency since joining Tottenham from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window – he has embarked upon some encouraging attacking forays but has often left large gaps defensively and has also shown a lack of discipline at times, notably being sent off against West Ham United in the Premier League.
It is the latter point that is most important for Pochettino to consider going into Saturday’s game. North London derbies are of course always tempestuous affairs and Aurier would surely be at risk of a red card if he was to feature, while the Ivorian doesn’t provide the same defensive protection as Kieran Trippier does.
While Aurier has started each of Tottenham’s last three Premier League games and is capable of featuring on either flank, Pochettino must be brave enough to drop him for the trip to take on Arsenal.
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