Jamie Carragher was critical about Tottenham's midfield after loss to Arsenal

Tottenham were handed a 3-1 thrashing by Arsenal on Sunday and Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santos’ tactics have come under heavy criticism. Spurs conceded all three goals within 35 minutes and their midfield looked clueless throughout the match. Although Nuno tried to change things at the half time and managed to pull one back through Son Heung-min, it was a poor performance from Tottenham. Jammie Carragher – in particular – was critical about Tottenham’s midfield during his analysis for Sky Sports.

Carragher said: “I’ve been doing this show now for eight years. Whenever I see a performance like that, I always look at players first, as I have on this. I think managers often take too much criticism, and often it’s down to the players.”

At half time, Nuno replaced midfielder Dele Alli and right-back Japhet Tanganga with Oliver Skipp and Emerson. Although the changes helped Spurs to be a bit more direct while going forward, Arsenal stood firm to see them off.

“There were some shocking performances from Tottenham players, but I think the manager was equally culpable in this result in how he set up. When people question a manager, we always hear: ‘There was no plan’ – but there’s always a plan at this level in football. When you analyse it: I’m not sure how this plan was ever going to work.”

Alli, for all the promise he had shown is still not a finished product. The 25-year-old is still not able to perform at his best on a consistent basis. This season, he has been struggling for form.

“One minute into the game: Dele Alli, Ndombele and Hojbjerg are the midfield players, and they are not in midfield positions. The only reason you’d stand there [so far from the ball and midfield], is if your manager has told you to go there.

“They wanted to go direct, but who to? Even if you win the ball, you need someone behind you to pick up second balls, but Dele Alli was on the same line as Harry Kane!

“When you look at the space in midfield… I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in my life.

“Where would you want them? Surely not there. There’s less space on the moon than what you see in that midfield for Tottenham. It’s actually unbelievable. The manager must have told them where to go: this is before the first goal. It was always going to happen.”

Nuno took charge of Tottenham on the back of some impressive work at Wolves. But the Portuguese boss has been struggling at the London club. Although he started his Tottenham stint with a 1-0 League win over Manchester City and two victories of the similar scoreline against his former club Wolves and Watford, Tottenham lost the last three League matches.

In the last three League fixtures, Spurs have conceded nine goals, scoring only one, which is a real cause of concern. Also, the lack of form of star striker Harry Kane has also contributed to his worries. The English striker hasn’t scored a Premier League goal this season.

During Nuno’s time at Wolves, the club was known to have a solid defence and they were very good at transitioning from defence to attack. He had players like Adama Traore and Raul Jimenez who were apt for that game plan.

Meanwhile at Spurs, he seems to be overdoing things. In the first few matches, the defence looked solid but few chances were created up front. But, in the last few matches his change in tactics to contribute more in the attack seems to have backfired. The team seems to have lost its shape in the defence and the midfield lacks understanding.

Tottenham’s next assignment is against Mura in the Euro Conference League group stage and then they will host Aston villa on Sunday.