Jan Vertonghen's omission from the Tottenham squad was a major talking point ahead of the late 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
Featuring regularly for the team in pre-season, eyebrows were raised one hour prior to kick-off with Mauricio Pochettino opting to go with Davinson Sanchez at the back instead of the experienced Belgian defender.
The Colombian did play a big role in Aston Villa's opener as he was focusing too much on Wesley rather than concentrating on the ball as John McGinn collected Tyrone Mings' long pass to open the scoring.
Revealing pre-match that Vertonghen's absence was not down to injury, the manager explained further after the late victory why he left the defender out of the squad entirely and instead went with Sanchez and Alderweireld at the back.
"I want to play the players who deserve to play, who I think to deserve to play and who are playing well," the manager told Sky Sports. "My decision today was to play Toby. If the players didn't play today, they need to work hard to get their opportunity.
"With all the players fit you struggle to find a starting 11," he added. "We have more than 25 players and everyone needs to understand we have plenty of good players in every position. We can only play with 11.
"It's always the judgement of the manager and the coaching staff.
"After five years I'm going to play the players who deserve to play, there is not any issue but my decision today was play with Toby and Davinson to provide a good balance for the team."
Vertonghen will be hoping to be back in the squad when the team travel to Man City next Saturday evening.
