Jamie O’Hara, as the dust settled following Tottenham Hotspur’s limp Champions League exit at the hands of AC Milan, said what every single Spurs supporter was thinking.
Why, when the home side needed a goal – when they were staring elimination in the face with the seconds drifting away – did Antonio Conte leave Arnaut Danjuma on the substitute’s bench in favour of centre-half Davinson Sanchez?
“It is crazy,” the former Spurs midfielder told talkSPORT (8 March, 11pm). “I couldn’t believe he did that.”
Cristian Romero’s red card, Conte will argue, necessitated Sanchez’s introduction. But surely better to die on your own sword than to lay it down and surrender? That’s what Tottenham’s performance felt like on Wednesday night. A surrender. An apologetic admission that even an average, limited AC Milan side were too good for them.
And, as Danjuma watched on helplessly from the sidelines, the January loan signing from Villarreal would have been forgiven for wondering what we was doing here. What was the point of his mid-season arrival if he was not going to be called upon when a moment of attacking inspiration was required?
It’s not as if Harry Kane, Richarlison or Heung-Min Son looked likely to break Milan’s resistance after all.
“You may as well bring on Danjuma!” ex-Tottenham ace Jermaine Jenas gasped during his commentary duties for BT Sport.
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Arnaut Danjuma may regret choosing Tottenham Hotspur over Everton
Danjuma backed out of a move to Everton in favour of joining Tottenham in the final week of the January transfer window. Now, we don’t want to put words in Danjuma’s mouth. But we’d imagine that he would prefer to be playing regularly, even in the midst of a gruelling relegation battle, than not at all.
Out of a possible 810 minutes under Conte, Danjuma has featured in just 47 of them. It’s not as if he does not have a knack for sticking the ball in the back of the net either. He netted 16 times in 34 games for Villarreal last term; an average of one-in-two. Six of those came in the Champions League. Unai Emery’s side stormed to the semi-finals; the former Bournemouth man finding the net against Bayern Munich, Juventus and Atalanta.
Danjuma could have become a modern-day Goodison Park hero at Everton; firing this oh-so goal-shy club away from the relegation zone. And if the Toffees did go down? No matter. He was only on loan anyway.
Instead, Danjuma looks destined to end up alongside Gregorsz Rasiak, Clinton N’Jie and co in the annals of Tottenham’s most forgettable signings.
After Wednesday’s European exit, fellow forward Richarlison spoke openly about his frustration at Spurs. It’s difficult to imagine there weren’t a few other players in a dejected dressing room with similar feelings.
In other news, Liverpool transfer news: Dortmund won’t budge over Bellingham asking price
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