Garth Crooks has blasted Hugo Lloris after his error in the North London derby and insisted that the Frenchman is a liability for Tottenham Hotspur in big games.
Lloris had been in sensational form between the sticks this season heading into the weekend but the goalkeeper had an afternoon to forget on Saturday as Spurs were handed their first defeat of the Premier League campaign at the hands of their fiercest rivals.
It was the Tottenham captain’s mistake at the start of the second half that led to Arsenal’s second goal, with the 35-year-old parrying Bukayo Saka’s shot straight into the danger area.
The ball fell kindly for Gabriel Jesus, who tapped it into an empty net after Cristian Romero failed to clear.
Sky Sports’ Adam Bate has revealed that the numbers show Lloris makes many more mistakes against ‘big six’ opposition than other clubs, with the goalkeeper having made 11 errors that led to goals in his 91 matches against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Liverpool.
Crooks has now suggested that the France captain is not someone Antonio Conte can trust in big matches.
The former Spurs forward wrote in his column for BBC Sport: “Antonio Conte’s Spurs have to learn to keep calm and hold their nerve in big games if they are to be taken seriously or have any chance of winning trophies this season.
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“Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris makes ordinary saves look unnecessarily spectacular and is a liability in the games that matter.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I do not agree with Crooks’ assessment that Lloris makes easy saves look spectacular. In fact, the Frenchman reacts quite quickly (in terms of his footwork) to shots, which is why he is often able to save shots that other goalkeepers would not get to. Even though the 35-year-old does have the odd mistake in him, he saves Spurs a lot more points than he costs.
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