Wilson Palacios: Tottenham Have Themselves a Real Gem

Wilson Palacios has only played two games for Tottenham since his 12 million pound move from Wigan Athletic, but Spurs fans should have every reason to take him to heart following his first ever North London Derby. The stage was set at White Heart Lane for an all-out attacking display between two sides in desperate need of points for their own subjective reasons.

In the end, the game finished in a 0-0 draw, perhaps leaving the Arsenal supporters feeling a bit fortunate. Arsenal was forced to play with 10 men for much of the game, following Eboue's second bookable offense.

Although the White Heart Lane faithful must be dwelling on their side's incompetency in finishing the game off, they can seek comfort in the fact that Wilson Palacios was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. Tackle after tackle, the Honduran International never stopped closing down the Arsenal offense, which normally thrives off space to work their intricate passing game.

At one point, Palacios completed a triple tackle. He was seemingly unfazed by the opposition in each of the many 50-50 tackles he forced himself into.

It's no wonder why Harry Redknapp has recently stated that he wishes to build his team around Palacios and Luka Modric; his breakup play and effort off the ball seem to be the perfect foil for Modric's silky movement and flair.

"I need to get Palacios in my team because he's everything I've been wanting in a midfield player," Redknapp said.

"There's Modric and I've got to shape my team up where I get these players in my team."

When originally brought in, there were questions among many of how Harry Redknapp would balance the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Palacios, Didier Zokora, Tom Huddlestone, Jamie O'hara, and Luka Modric. Although Luka Modric was employed down the left against Arsenal, it seems as if he will shift back to his favored central role when David Bentley returns from suspension. When he does, he can rest assured that the new gem of a Spurs player will offer Modric all the space he needs to unlock defenses.

The future doesn't look half as promising for Spurs natural defensive midfielder Didier Zokora. The Ivory Coast International has earned himself a split reputation among Spurs fans, depending upon which moments they choose to judge him on. At one point, he breaks up the play and goes on a 50-yard run up the pitch. Next, he carelessly passes the ball away to the opposition.

In spite of this, Harry Redknapp has offered Zokora his praise, after apparently rejecting him while at Portsmouth following a trial for the South Coast club.

"Zokora's a top-class player, one that lots of big clubs would ask about," Redknapp said.

'His passing sometimes is not top, top class but the rest of his game is—he covers the ground, closes space, tackles, and is an important player for this club."

Redknapp initially felt he would have to alter his lineup in order to accommodate his two hard working players:

"Palacios is a central-midfield player and I need Zokora as well," he said.

Despite Redknapp's assurance in his abilities, Zokora finds himself in an unfavorable "anything you can do, I can do better" situation against the Honduran. Not only does Palacios have the ability to break up the play like Zokora, but he also found himself at the center of Tottenham's attacking play, with his pile-driver of a shot being saved well by Almunia in added time of the first half.

With a relegation scrap on the cards, Harry Redknapp has seemingly made the correct decision in bringing Palacios to a club that is stacked, yet unbalanced in the midfield. Whether he is the man to take the Spurs up the table remains a mystery, but with his effort and physical presence in the midfield, it is all but certain that Tottenham will avoid the drop if Harry Redknapp can continue to get the best out of his most beneficial signing.