This week Serge Aurier was involved in international action for the Ivory Coast and was even named as the captain – which has led to a lot of Tottenham Hotspur fans asking why is he not in the team?
It certainly seems an odd decision by Mauricio Pochettino to leave Aurier out of Spurs’ recent games.
The Argentine started with Kyle Walker-Peters as his preferred choice at right-back and, apart from the Aston Villa game, he has looked shaky.
Particularly against Manchester City where Raheem Sterling gave him a torrid time.
He then picked up an injury in his sides 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United and Pochettino chose to play Davinson Sanchez out of position for the North London derby.
The move backfired as Arsenal consistently targeted the Colombian and he looked very shaky for the entire game.
The most baffling thing about Pochettino’s decision though was the fact he had a fully fit Serge Aurier sat on the bench.
The former PSG man slipped down the pecking order last season – with Tottenham playing Kieran Trippier in most of their games, and as a result Aurier only made 14 appearances last season.
With Trippier gone he may well have thought he was going to get a chance, but it seems Pochettino does not fancy Aurier and is doing anything other than play him.
Aurier is an energetic attacking full-back who isn’t the best defensively but surely in a game like Crystal Palace Pochettino would want more attacking threat?
I think that Pochettino is too stubborn playing Sanchez was just ridiculous, and Aurier may not be the best defender, but he is certainly capable of playing right-back in the Premier League – until Spurs sign a new quality full-back.
Certainly, Aurier should be starting over the raw Walker-Peters, and the game against Palace is the perfect time to put him in the side.