Benjamin Stambouli joined Spurs for £4.7 million on transfer deadline day from Ligue 1 club Montpellier, where he had previously been a key part of the team that won the French league title a couple of seasons ago. The uncapped Frenchman is believed to have been Mauricio Pochettino's second choice holding midfielder target, after the former Southampton boss failed in an attempt to bring former player Morgan Schneiderlin to White Hart Lane over the summer. However, when Stambouli came on for his debut in the Premier League at Sunderland, he looked every inch the top signing. He was tenacious and good on the ball and he won more tackles than any other Spurs player did all game in the twenty minutes he was on the pitch. He then started against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League and a moment of delightful skill from him was arguably the highlight of the game, but he was left out entirely against West Bromwich Albion, though that was likely down to a knock he received in Serbia. As Spurs prepare to face Arsenal this weekend in the North London derby, Stambouli could be a good option. Arsenal play a possession game and midfield is their strongest area by far, so Spurs should think about changing to a 4-3-3 with dominant physical players like Stambouli, Etienne Capoue and Mousa Dembele marshalling the middle of the park to counter the Gunners. That said, making your full Premier League debut in such a huge match might be asking too much of the player, but he looks like he's raring to go in a Spurs shirt and could well be up to the task. So, in a nutshell, the question this post wants to ask is - if indeed you think he should start - why should French midfielder Benjamin Stambouli start the North London derby against Arsenal this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. And please feel free to follow me on Twitter!
