The path of Emerson Royal has been a painstaking one for Tottenham supporters ever since his move from Barcelona.
It has been full of many spills but unfortunately not many thrills.
Having reportedly favoured Spurs over Arsenal, the Brazilian had already ticked one box as far as the Lilywhites faithful were concerned.
Sadly, that moment has unfortunately been one of the best of his rather dismal time in north London.
A bubbly and jovial character, the wing-back has been an effervescent threat on the right of Antonio Conte’s team.
Though, just why the Italian has continued to put so much faith in him is perplexing.
In Spurs colours, Emerson has been nothing short of a “liability” as talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara once eluded to, but the club must see something in him.
After all, in January Fabio Paratici and Conte combined to keep him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium despite a wave of departures, particularly in his position.
Djed Spence, a man afforded very little time due to Emerson’s presence was loaned out to Rennes in France on deadline day, but another of his competitors in Matt Doherty saw his contract terminated so that he could join Atletico Madrid.
Amid all of that excitement, Pedro Porro signed for Conte’s men. An exciting young Spaniard, he possesses an array of tools that may well frighten Emerson into his losing his place.
Porro has joined on loan initially with the view to potentially signing on a permanent basis for £39m in the summer.
It did look as though the Sporting Lisbon defender would be able to walk straight into the team such are the calamitous fortunes of the man ahead of him in the pecking order.
However, on a triumphant and historical day for Spurs, the 24-year-old sent a defiant message to his manager, one that indicated he wouldn’t be pushed aside by Porro easily.
The former Barca ace rocked up against Manchester City and in the eyes of many onlookers, turned in his classiest display yet since his £26m arrival.
That was the view of Football.London’s Rob Guest who took to social media in the aftermath of Spurs’ 1-0 win to claim that this was the right-back’s “best performance in a Tottenham shirt by some way.”
The Express’ Ryan Taylor went on to declare that it was a “defensive masterclass” in a rare tribute to a player who usually looks lost in the last third of the pitch.
On this occasion, he had kept £100m man Jack Grealish quiet, subsequently earning widespread praise, with Emerson’s outing being “cheered to the rafters” as per Tim Spiers come full time.
Having scored against Pep Guardiola’s men just a few weeks ago, it would appear that the Brazil international is in love with the sight of sky blue, having looked even more imperious this time around.
As per Sofascore, Tottenham’s number 12 was an absolute rock at the back, winning a whopping eight duels, two of which were successful tackles.
The most vital of interventions came in the second period as Grealish aimed to dart into the penalty area only to be thwarted.
Emerson made a further six clearances during the encounter and was fouled a mammoth five times, a marker of the havoc and annoyance he caused among the City players.
This was a rare day of triumph for the Spurs wing back with the idea of some true competition in Porro potentially igniting a spark in his career. If that is the case, then the carnage that played out in regards to Tottenham’s late January business may well serve as a Paratici masterclass.
Indeed, if Emerson continues in this light then it will be a real boon to Conte to be able to rely on a player clearly so important to his system.
On his day, he is an incredibly difficult player to stop but as Spurs fans will tell you, that is rather rare.
The task now for the São Paulo-born gem will be to find consistency. Alongside Porro, Spurs could well wield two dangerous options, options capable of firing them towards a place in the top four. Time will tell.