Arnaut Danjuma finally made his Tottenham Hotspur Stadium debut on Saturday as he came on for the final 12 minutes of Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arnaut Danjuma will be hoping it is the start of things to come for him at Tottenham after finally making his home bow in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. Joining just over two months ago from Villarreal having previously looked set to move to Everton on a loan deal until the end of the campaign, the attacker has had to be incredibly patient during his short stay in N17.
Making the perfect start in a Tottenham shirt with a goal on his debut in the 3-0 FA Cup win over Preston North End days after completing his move to the club, Danjuma had only played a further 28 minutes across three appearances before Cristian Stellini finally introduced him from the bench against Brighton. Supporters have been desperate to see the 26-year-old get his opportunity and their reaction said it all when he entered the fray.
Greeted by a huge cheer when he made his way from the dugout towards the technical area, it was to get even louder when he finally stepped onto the pitch as he replaced Dejan Kulusevski for the final 12 minutes. It was reminiscent of the deafening ovation that came Djed Spence’s way when he made his home debut against Everton in October with chances also just not there for him under Antonio Conte.
Not exactly a lot of time for the versatile attacker to try and have an impact on proceedings, Danjuma did have a role to play in Harry Kane’s winner one minute later. Putting pressure on goalkeeper Jason Steele after the ball was played back to him, the Brighton man was forced into a hurried clearance and seconds later Cristian Romero came out with the ball and Spurs worked it well to create the opening for Kane to net his 23rd league goal of the campaign.
The striker was afforded plenty of space on the edge of the Brighton box, with Danjuma, who was already in the area, playing a key role after his dart to the left dragged a couple of defenders with him. Needing to hang on and defend their lead after previously shipping late goals at Southampton and Everton, very little came Danjuma’s way in an attacking sense but he would have been incredibly pleased to finally make his debut at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and help the team to three important points in the top-four race.
Not featuring for Tottenham since coming off in the opening minutes of the 3-3 draw at Southampton, Richarlison was a surprise inclusion on the bench after Stellini had said in his pre-match press conference that the summer signing wasn’t ready to return. It did appear that Danjuma would instantly fall down the pecking order despite coming into the game believing that he was in with a good shout of playing in the game with Lucas suspended and Richarlison looking on course to miss another game.
The Tottenham loanee will be determined to play his part this coming Saturday, especially with the game coming against his former club. Danjuma certainly deserves another shot after a decent cameo and the hope is that Stellini will be able to offer him a lot more game time compared to the measly amount of minutes he was handed under Conte.
Criminally underused since joining Tottenham, Danjuma’s loan spell may not have gone as planned but he can still play his part in the final eight games if given the chance. Stellini holds the key to that happening, though, and Richarlison’s fitness levels may also have a part to play.
