First up is a player who initially seemed like a clever signing at the start of the season. Joao Palhinha made a huge impact during his first Premier League spell with Fulham, but his return to England has quickly gone downhill.<\/p>\n
The Portugal international still shows his defensive awareness and ability to read danger in midfield, yet flashes of why he struggled at a club like Bayern Munich are becoming apparent. Palhinha\u2019s limitations on the ball and struggles to maintain possession make it hard to justify him as a guaranteed starter. Fans were quick to criticize his underwhelming performance at the Emirates, with one remarking: \u201cShould\u2019ve known what we were in for when he chose Palhinha over a proper passing midfielder. That sums up everything Frank has tried to do with this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another supporter added: \u201cPalhinha is shockingly bad. Bentancur is somehow worse. Both need to go,\u201d hinting at the player discussed next. A third fan summed it up harshly: \u201cPalhinha. I\u2019ve given him countless chances; he\u2019s so poor. Doesn\u2019t matter how many tackles he makes. He\u2019s been useless today, and I don\u2019t want us signing him. Painfully average footballer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodrigo Bentancur
\nPalhinha\u2019s midfield partner, Rodrigo Bentancur, also faced online frustration. The duo were thoroughly outplayed by Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, and Eberechi Eze. While Arsenal often dominates midfield, the way they were overrun raised concerns. One fan insisted Frank should be held accountable: \u201cPlaying Palhinha and Bentancur together more than three times should be a sackable offense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Destiny Udogie
\nDestiny Udogie has rarely been a regular starter under the former Brentford boss. While off-field issues may have played a role, the young Italian also appears ill-suited to Frank\u2019s system. Once a dynamic full-back known for constant overlapping runs, he now seems a shadow of his former self.<\/p>\n
He struggled against Bukayo Saka and was sloppy in possession, losing the ball 13 times, which only increased pressure on his team. Whether it was an off day or a sign of ongoing struggles under Frank remains uncertain, but the early signs are concerning.<\/p>\n
Kevin Danso
\nSome eyebrows were raised when Tottenham lined up with Kevin Danso alongside the usual centre-back pairing, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. On paper, the move promised defensive stability and the chance for Danso to utilize his long throw-ins.<\/p>\n
In practice, it was a different story. Danso was caught asleep for the opening goal, allowing Trossard to drift unmarked into the box. His poor performance led to a halftime substitution, signaling Frank recognized the mistake. While he won all three of his duels, Danso\u2019s limited ability on the ball made him an easy target for Arsenal\u2019s press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
First up is a player who initially seemed like a clever signing at the start of the season. Joao Palhinha made a huge impact during his first Premier League spell with Fulham, but his return to England has quickly gone downhill. The Portugal international still shows his defensive awareness and ability to read danger in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":55167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mixcollage-23-nov-2025-06-08-pm-298.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55168,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55166\/revisions\/55168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}