Spurs supporters would have had high expectations heading into the new season in August after a strong but exceptional summer transfer window that saw five new faces arrive at the club, but those ambitions were swiftly dashed.
Due to the Lilywhites’ 1-0 home loss to bitter rivals Arsenal on Sunday, Ange Postecoglou and company have only been successful on.
Despite the absence of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, Arsenal’s two biggest players, they were still able to take advantageTottenham’s weakness in set-piece defense. Spurs’ goal was indicative of how they gave it up: a corner from Bukayo Saka was huge leap from Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes,leap from Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes, who powered his header into the n
Cristian Romero was chastised by former Manchester United captain Gary Neville for his inattentiveness in the box when defending the Arsenal goal following a corner kick. Speaking with reputable Sky Sports analyst Peter Drury on the Gary Neville podcast, he said:
“The keeper has a deep root. Three yards out, he heads it, breaks away, and Romero, the center back, is bringing Gabriel up.
“The Argentinean’s play is really bad, but I would like my goalie to get involved.” After being obstructed, he becomes rooted.
Tottenham would have been furious with their collective defense during Arsenal’s set-piece goal, particularly considering that goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and defender Cristian Romero failed to perform their duties. It was Vicario’s obligation to step off his line and punch the ball away; Romero never attempted to jump to deflect Gabriel.
Gabriel easily dissuaded the Argentinean defender in particular when the Arsenal defender looked to give him a tiny shove with both hands before driving the ball beyond Vicario. Romero, who is generally praised for his strong, rugged, and no-nonsense style of play, played incredibly soft and unusual defense. The World Cup winner seemed to be unaware of Gabriel’s presence as he was engrossed in defending the corner routine.
Romero and his colleague’s incredibly naive approach once again exposed Tottenham’s weaknesses when it came to set plays. If the Spurs are to get better as a team, Big Ange and his coaching staff need to address some of our team’s most obvious shortcomings.
