Player In Focus: Jan Vertonghen; a day to forget for the Belgian

Unfortunately, today’s In Focus segment will not be a positive one, as we break down exactly where it went wrong for Jan Vertoghen today.

I am a firm believer that Mauricio Pochettino must take some responsibility for the Belgian’s performance today.

Vertonghen was out injured for 10 games, a pretty long time in football terms. To throw him in for 90 minutes in a must-win Champions League game was one thing, but today was a step too far.

Asking him to play 180 minutes in only four days was just too much to ask of someone just back from injury, and Vertonghen took it into his own hands to ensure he didn’t complete that time.

The horror show started in the 8th minute, when Vertonghen threw his arm up above his head and flicked the ball away from a corner, a strange mistake for someone so experienced.

Aubameyang scored the resulting penalty to get Arsenal off on the front foot.

The Belgium international never looked quite comfortable on the pitch today, as he was sloppy on the ball, and found it near impossible to keep up with the pace of Aubamayeng.

Spurs ran away to a 2-1 lead at half time, before Jan and Foyth left gaps in the second 45, allowing Auba to finish well, followed by Torreira and Lacazette.

To round off his defensively poor performance, Vertonghen added to the yellow he got from the first half pen with a late follow through on Laca.

The red card will keep him out of the next game for Spurs, but perhaps he needs this time to take a breather and to reflect on his mistakes.