Archie on Ben: “He’s a joy to play with” | OneFootball

Archie Gray would have been seven when Ben Davies made his Spurs debut back in 2014.

Over 10 years and approaching 350 appearances for us later, Ben produced another outstanding performance as the pair combined centrally in a resolute defensive display in our 2-0 win at Brentford on Sunday.

It was ‘thou shalt not pass’ stuff at the Gtech as the home side threw 37 crosses at us - literally, when long-throw expert Michael Olabode Kayode entered the fray in the second half - but Ben, Archie, Man of the Match Djed Spence, Pedro Porro and goalkeeper Toni Kinsky, with help from the rest of the team, including Richarlison excelling in his defensive duties, ensured all that pressure was repelled.

That left it to Heung-Min Son’s wickedly inswinging corner forcing an own goal (30 minutes) and a perfectly executed counter-attack, back to front, with Sonny playing in Pape Matar Sarr to finish (87 minutes) to secure a much-needed 2-0 win on the road.

Archie’s performances - described as ‘brilliant’ here again by Ange Postecoglou - have certainly caught the eye of late as the 18-year-old racked up his 29th appearance in all competitions already in his debut season at the club, but he was happy to shift the spotlight onto his central defensive partner.

“It’s a joy to play with him,” said Archie of Ben. “He pretty much talks me through every moment because of how experienced he is - he’s seen everything in the Premier League - and it makes it 100 times easier playing with players like Ben, Radu, Micky, Cuti when he’s back. Ben was outstanding again, really helped me through the game, so, credit to him, credit to everyone in the back four and Toni as well, for the clean sheet.

“It was a difficult game, we knew that, especially with the way Brentford are going, they’re in a good position in the league and they have players who can threaten you. They did that, put a lot of crosses in the box and went man-to-man on us, so that brought a lot of pressure, but I thought we dealt with that well, dealt with the crosses and scored our goals... perfect.”

Archie on our resolute defensive display and attitude...

“The moment that summed it up was Richy throwing himself in front of that shot in the first half, that sent a message to everyone on the pitch, 'this is what we need to do'. He set an example for everyone and the way he worked today was unbelievable, as did everyone else, I’m so proud of everyone.”

On the players’ post-match huddle and celebration with our fans...

“I’m not going say, ‘sense of relief’, but definitely... we just needed it. It’s good for the morale of the team, the fans, it will give a good boost to everyone in the club. We need to keep that going. Now, we focus on the next game, keep working hard and take it from there.”

On getting used to playing centre-back...

“Wherever the gaffer tells me to go, I’ll be happy to play. Every minute I’m on the pitch I’m really grateful for and I’ll always do my best.”