Tottenham Hotspur seem to have walked straight into another disaster in midfield, and the frustration around the club is only growing.
Supporters have already endured years of inconsistency and questionable signings, but the situation surrounding Rodrigo Bentancur has become one of the biggest concerns since Serge Aurier’s chaotic spell in North London.
For Spurs fans, the last thing they needed this season was yet another player becoming more of a problem than a solution, yet that is exactly what appears to be happening.
The mood around the club has been tense for months. Even moments that were supposed to lift spirits have quickly turned sour. Ange Postecoglou proudly claimed that his third season would be better than the second, only to be dismissed weeks later.
Now Thomas Frank is learning that even lighthearted comments can come back to haunt a manager under pressure. When asked about Tottenham’s failed effort to sign Eberechi Eze, he jokingly replied, “Who’s Eze?” A week later, he watched Eze score a ruthless hat-trick that helped Arsenal crush Spurs 4–1 in a painful North London derby.
Tottenham arrived at the Emirates with a plan to sit deep, frustrate Arsenal, and rely on their strong away form. For the first 30 minutes, it actually worked.
They slowed the game down, closed passing lanes, and made Arsenal struggle to break through. But once the first goal went in, the match fell apart instantly. Spurs created nothing meaningful, managing only three shots, one save forced, and no clear chances. Without Richarlison’s fortunate strike, they would have left without scoring at all.
Across the pitch, several Spurs players were completely overwhelmed. Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus were shut down easily, Richarlison was bullied all evening and barely had any involvement, and the defence struggled badly.
Bukayo Saka repeatedly got the better of Destiny Udogie, and even the usually reliable Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero looked unsteady. But no player had a worse performance than Rodrigo Bentancur, who has become a growing concern in Spurs’ midfield.
Bentancur’s arrival in January 2022 for £22 million was supposed to bring stability, energy, and quality in possession. Instead, his time at Tottenham has been filled with inconsistency, avoidable fouls, and unreliable performances.
He plays regularly, starting nine of the club’s twelve league matches this season, yet he continues to be one of the weakest links in the team. His challenges are mistimed, he struggles defensively, and his creative output is almost nonexistent.
His issues were already on display earlier this month when he was lucky not to be sent off for a dangerous studs-up challenge on Chelsea’s Reece James.
Spurs presenter Hollie Agombar called him “a lucky boy,” while reporters described the tackle as “terrible.” Frank may have brushed it off, but Sunday’s derby proved that these problems are not isolated incidents.
Against Arsenal, Bentancur was overrun from the first whistle. He picked up a yellow card for a clumsy foul on Saka just outside the box, and things only got worse from there. He failed to track runners, lost duels easily, and offered nothing to help Spurs regain control.
When Eze scored his first goal, Bentancur went to ground far too early, letting the Arsenal playmaker glide past him in the penalty area. It summed up a performance that lacked composure, confidence, and responsibility.
His numbers from the match paint an even clearer picture:
Rodrigo Bentancur vs Arsenal – Match Stats
| Statistic | Number |
|---|---|
| Minutes played | 66 |
| Touches | 27 |
| Accurate passes | 16/17 (94%) |
| Key passes | 0 |
| Shots | 0 |
| Dribbles | 0 |
| Tackles won | 0 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Duels won | 0 |
He was given a 3/10 rating after the match, with critics highlighting that he offered nothing to help Tottenham settle or push forward. Even more worrying, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario received six more passes in the first half than Bentancur and Palhinha combined proof of how little control Spurs had in midfield.
The comparisons to Serge Aurier are now growing stronger. Like Aurier, Bentancur can look promising for moments, but his mistakes are costly and his inconsistency puts pressure on the entire team.
Aurier’s time at Tottenham was marked by rash decisions, reckless fouls, and constant defensive errors. Bentancur’s performances are beginning to follow the same pattern, and supporters are losing patience rapidly.
Football analyst Raj Chohan has gone as far as calling him a “candidate for worst centre-midfielder at a big six club.” While harsh, it reflects the frustration Spurs fans feel watching a player who should be helping carry the team but instead forces them into difficult situations every week.
Tottenham cannot keep relying on Bentancur in his current form. He has become a liability, predictable for all the wrong reasons, and far from the midfield presence the club expected.
If Spurs want to rebuild, find a stable identity, and compete at the level their supporters expect, they cannot keep giving key roles to players who perform like this.
Bentancur may not have been signed with chaos in mind, but right now, he is shaping up to be their most troubling £22 million investment since Serge Aurier.
