A few Tottenham Hotspur supporters have been reacting on social media after Serge Aurier declared that Sunday’s North London Derby is a must-win match for Jose Mourinho’s side.
Aurier is adamant that Mourinho’s men must beat Arsenal at all costs when Mikel Arteta’s Gunners make the trip across north London, having seen Spurs only win two of their five games played since the resumption of Premier League football.
Being a derby makes Sunday’s contest even more crucial for Tottenham, with Aurier pushing the argument that he and his teammates must play aggressively to cope with the pressure.
“You don’t just play a derby – it is not a normal game – there’s a different flavour about it,” Aurier explained in the official Tottenham Hotspur matchday programme, via quotes by the Mirror.
“You don’t just want to play this derby to be a part of it. You play to win. Maybe you don’t play the best, maybe you don’t have a lot of the ball but you don’t care because when you win this game, it doesn’t matter how you play. We just want to win.
“This game is different. You need to put more pressure on yourself and more aggressiveness in the game itself because there is a different feeling about it.”
Tottenham’s wavering form since the restart has seen the gap to the Champions League places fail to close and now sit below Arsenal in the table, and face a fight with Wolverhampton Wanders and Sheffield United for the Europa League spots.
Spurs fans on social media do not seem too confident in Aurier’s ability to help flip the table on Sunday, though, with a few offering criticism of the 58-cap Ivory Coast international’s talents in response to his war cry.
In particular, a few supporters took aim at Aurier’s crossing, having seen the 27-year-old deliver just 20 accurate balls into the box (16.13%) over his 29 Premier League appearances, although that figure is a team-high with Heung-Min Son and now-Inter Milan playmaker Christian Eriksen second with 11 accurate deliveries each, per Sofa Score data.
Spurs fans say Serge Aurier must put a decent cross into the box during NLD at all costs! Go on Serge. Try it. Just once. You never know, you might like it! #COYS #THFC #LEVYOUT https://t.co/eiMTGDFYvO
— Jerry Gates (@jezzgates67) July 11, 2020
Does that mean not firing 15 crosses in from the right that never beat the first man?
— Rob Beeson (@rob_beeson) July 11, 2020
Other supporters reacting to Aurier’s quotes on social media have appeared to focus in on his declaration that Tottenham must play aggressively, with a few fans suggesting a red card is almost nailed on come Sunday afternoon.
Red card for him then.
— kenmcdonald (@demcd) July 11, 2020
Red card inbound
— Lee Graham©™ (@leegra79) July 11, 2020
Outside of supporters criticising Aurier’s talents and sharing their anticipation of a sending off, some fans have posted sarcastic messages that any derby is a ‘must-win’ match, let alone with the table as it is ahead of kick-off.
Same as any year really, a “must win”
Game— Karl (@KarlBuzz16) July 11, 2020
Really 🙄🙄
— Steven curran (@stevenc50146686) July 11, 2020