Premier League 2018-19: Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham: 3 reasons why Spurs lost

Aubameyang was by far the best player on the pitch
Aubameyang was by far the best player on the pitch

#2 Vertonghen's night off

Vertonghen was sent off by the referee after a cynical foul on Lacazette at the 85th minute
Vertonghen was sent off by the referee after a cynical foul on Lacazette at the 85th minute

Many Tottenham fans may have been forgiven for having doubts about their defence in this match, as Juan Foyth started alongside Jan Vertonghen instead of Toby Alderweireld, who remained on the bench for the entire 90.

Their concerns were somewhat misguided, as it was the usually assured Belgian who was the cause of their downfall in the derby, as his handball in the first half gave away the penalty, and his evening was capped off after he was given his marching orders by Mike Dean by a horrible lunge on Alexandre Lacazette.

Vertonghen struggled to keep up with Arsenal's frantic pressure and had to be rescued on quite a few occasions by his team-mates as he was uncharacteristically caught out of position a lot of times against Aubameyang & Co, and his abysmal performance was a major reason for Tottenham's derby defeat.

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