Ian Wright is surprised that Cristian Romero allowed himself to be pushed aside at the corner that led to Arsenal’s winner in the North London Derby on Sunday.
Tottenham’s set-piece woes continue
Much has been made of Guglielmo Vicario’s poor handling of Arsenal’s match-winning corner in the North London Derby, but the likes of Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven seem to be escaping criticism.
While Vicario is renowned for showing his nerves when it comes to defending his own box, the onus should also be on the two centre-backs to win important headers against the opponent’s most dangerous players.
Against Arsenal, Romero allowed himself to be eased out of the way and could only watch on as his man climbed highest to head home the derby winner.
For someone so dominant at the other end of the pitch from set-pieces, and a player who is often referred to as one of the best centre-backs in the world, people are starting to expect more from the Argentine.
Ian Wright says Romero has to do better
Ian Wright has questioned why and how a player of Romero’s quality did not compete for the header with Gabriel, handing Arsenal an easy goal to win such an important derby.
Wright told Premier League Productions (15/09/24 from 16:20): “I was very surprised with Romero, it feels very easy for a defender of his calibre to be moved out of the way.
“I think it could have been a foul but not enough maybe. That just seems very simple when you look at the proximity from the goal and where he headed it in, It’s a very easy goal for Arsenal to score.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
Tottenham’s set-piece problems come from more than one man.
Vicario needs to be more convincing. Romero and Van de Ven need to be stronger. Spurs need a strong player on the front post to clear crosses like Harry Kane used to. And, perhaps most importantly of all, Tottenham need a set-piece coach.