Tottenham fans will forever be frustrated with Serge Aurier it seems. The Ivorian defender is so good when he’s at his best, but catch him on a bad day and you’re always going to see him struggle, as he yet again let his teammates down by getting sent off for two yellow cards against Southampton.
Against both Crystal Palace and Leicester City, the right-back has been very impressive, grabbing himself an assist in their 4-0 hammering of the Eagles before being robbed of a goal against the Foxes by mere millimetres because of VAR.
That means nothing now, though. After two promising displays, Aurier has undone all of the hard work he put in, and it was very telling when Mauricio Pochettino didn’t even give the defender as much as a glance in his direction as he made his walk back to the dressing room.
Whether or not that is us looking too deep into the situation or not, Pochettino has been ruthless in the past and it looks like he could be ruthless again now on the Aurier issue, and considering he has the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Juan Foyth and Moussa Sissoko who can fill in there, Aurier’s days now look numbered.
After the dismissal of the Ivorian, it was midfield man Moussa Sissoko who came into his own in the role, and whilst he may not be the natural choice on the right of a back four, the Frenchman was sublime, holding off the threat from Nathan Redmond own the Saints’ left.
This isn’t the first time that Serge Aurier has cost Tottenham. The fans were lucky that his dismissal didn’t see them throw away more points, but previously he has made these errors and it doesn’t look like he is learning or is willing to learn to cut out the rashness from his game.
In his debut season, the ex-PSG man got sent off for two yellow cards away at West Ham in a 3-2 win, although at the time of his dismissal the Lilywhites were cruising at 3-0. Then in the Champions League, he very nearly shot his side in the foot, giving away a crucial penalty against Juventus before Gonzalo Higuain blasted over.
It just seems that the defender will never learn, and seeing as he hasn’t been the club’s Champions League right-back so far and with a ban now hanging over him for next weekend, the chances are he’s blown the opportunity to make himself a permanent fixture in the side.