Fewer touches than Vicario: Ange must now drop Spurs ace after 5/10 display
On Sunday afternoon Ange Postecoglou was convinced Tottenham would win a trophy this season. It’s what I do in my second season, mate.
Well, he didn’t quite put it like that but the Australian boss was stern with his words. However, as Paul Merson said, he probably has more chance of winning Strictly Come Dancing than that eventuality happening. Harsh? Yes. Funny? Yes.
It’s true that Postecoglou has turned Spurs into a more exciting team, there is no denying that. But, their summer of spending went by without strengthening the starting XI too much and they look like they’re now paying for that.
The north Londoners have won just one match in the Premier League this season, losing to Newcastle and Arsenal, drawing with newly-promoted Leicester and only defeating early relegation-threatened Everton.
That said, despite a topsy-turvy start to the new term, there was optimism on Sunday afternoon. Arsenal were missing Declan Rice through suspension, Mikel Merino through injury and skipper Martin Odegaard was also absent having injured his ankle on international duty. What an opportunity this was for Spurs, but they could not take it.
It was Gabriel, mighty Gabriel who thundered a header home unmarked from a Bukayo Saka corner. A corner. Of course, it was. The Gunners are the set-piece kings of English football.
So, for Spurs, it will be back to the drawing board for a team that needs to quickly work out where it’s at. That should start by addressing a couple of enigmatic players in the team.
Where it went wrong for Spurs
Last week the Lilywhites were undone in strange circumstances and it was largely due to Cristian Romero’s defending. For both goals he was caught out of position, charging up the field to press and leaving space for Newcastle’s offence to capitalise.
Well, he didn’t quite come charging out on this occasion but it was the Argentine who left Arsenal’s centre-back unmarked from the corner.
Straying away from Gabriel, the Brazilian titan was left with acres of space in which to steady himself, jump and then hammer the ball past Guglielmo Vicario in the hosts’ net.
Romero will, of course, keep his place for the next league outing but the same may well not be said for some of Postecoglou’s attacking crop.
