With his long-term Tottenham future very much up in the air given all the Pedro Porro speculation at present, Emerson Royal provided a timely reminder of just what he can offer Antonio Conte's side on Monday evening at Fulham. Named in the starting XI for the second successive game, the Brazilian international played a key role in helping the team get back to winning ways.
As much as Tottenham fans would love to see the Italian's side playing free-flowing football and scoring goals for fun, it was vitally important that the Lilywhites just found a way to win in west London after those back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Man City. Under the cosh for the majority of the first half and scoring against the run of play courtesy of a moment of magic from Harry Kane, it was not exactly pretty for the majority of the contest but they did get the job done.
Key to that was always going to be remaining strong at the back and frustrating the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Willian and Bobby Decordova-Reid in the final third, especially after conceding a worrying 21 goals in their previous ten league fixtures. Registering only their second clean sheet in the league since the middle of October, Emerson was a pivotal figure at the back as he produced one of his best performances in a Tottenham shirt.
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Unfortunately the target of some boos in recent months going on his mixed performances at right wing-back, the Brazilian had to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench in their first four league games after the World Cup with Matt Doherty moving ahead of him in the pecking order. However, the Brazilian was handed his opportunity from the off last Thursday at Man City after his competitor had been suffering with illness prior to the trip to the Etihad Stadium.
Grasping his opportunity with both hands, the 24-year-old even managed to get on the scoresheet as he was in the right place to net his first goal of the season just prior to half-time. What was also notable about Emerson's display was the defensive side of his game. Performing very well away at Man City and Liverpool last season when his main focus was trying to nullify their attacking threat rather than looking to provide support in attack, he did it once again at the Etihad Stadium.
Emerson is at his best when he is solely concentrating on defending as that's where his strengths lie due to his experience in a right-back role since making his professional debut. He doesn't have the necessary qualities to be the attacking right wing-back Conte and Spurs need in their team right now having only experienced the position for the first time at Tottenham, but that may be something that comes with time and more minutes on the pitch in the future.
As was the case at Man City four days earlier, Emerson again impressed at the back, helping Tottenham obtain that all-important clean sheet along with fellow defenders Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Ivan Perisic. The player also was not far away from scoring in successive games after stinging the palms of Bernd Leno at his near post in the first half after linking up with Dejan Kulusevski down the right.
However, what stood out during his 90 minutes on the pitch was the numbers he recorded (via FotMob). Registering an 81% pass completion rate following 30 accurate passes from the 37 he attempted, three of which were successful long balls, he also won six of his duels and all four of his tackles, as well as making six clearances, three headed clearances and five recoveries.
All in all, it was a very promising display from the player, with plenty of Tottenham supporters rightly hailing him following such a strong performance when the team needed it most. Amid all the talk of Spurs moving for Porro from Sporting CP prior to next week's transfer deadline, Emerson also needed to deliver a strong performance in his fight for the right wing-back role.
Doherty could very well come into the side against Preston North End in the FA Cup on Saturday, with Emerson then returning the following week as his defensive qualities will be vital when Man City visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Following plenty of ups and downs since joining from Barcelona at the beginning of last season, Emerson has enjoyed a very good week in the Tottenham team and has more than deserved the praise coming his way.
He may not be the attacking wing-back Tottenham require but he displayed once again that he can more than do a job defensively for the side.
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