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Shay Given tells Tottenham’s Cristian Romero how he ended up helping Arsenal in the North London derby
Cristian Romero has been the leader of Tottenham Hotspur’s backline under Ange Postecoglou and was in the thick of the action against Arsenal.
Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat at home thanks to Gabriel Magalhaes’ second-half header and find themselves with just four points from as many games.
Romero has played every minute for the Lilywhites this season and has endured a lukewarm campaign by his lofty standards.
And Shay Given believes he might have inadvertently helped Arsenal secure a win in the North London derby.
Shay Given feels Cristiano Romero should have hit the ground in decisive moment vs Arsenal
The telling moment of the game occurred in the second half when Gabriel found himself unmarked to head home from close range for the solitary goal of the game.
The Brazilian defender appeared to climb on Romero’s back and give him a slight nudge before getting his head to the ball, an incident which was reviewed by VAR before awarding the goal.
Romero didn’t really protest after losing the header and Given feels the Argentine should have hit the ground as it would have given the VAR a more difficult decision to make.
He said on : “I mean, we speak every week about officials and players being more honest and trying to help officials and blah, blah, blah.
“By Romero’s honesty, in my opinion, by him staying on his feet, that’s why he didn’t get a foul.”
Richard Keys was also critical of Romero after the Arsenal game, although this time it was in response to his comments about Tottenham’s travel arrangements for their international contingent ahead of the derby.
Romero’s stats for Tottenham vs Arsenal
Spurs flattered to deceive against their local rivals as Arsenal secured all three points despite having a handful of notable absentees like Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino, among others.
Despite their struggles, Romero earned himself a rating of 7.5, making him the best-rated Tottenham player on the pitch.
He had 87 touches of the ball with a pass accuracy of 96% (70/73 passes completed), winning two aerial duels and three ground duels.
He might have been a bit too honest for his liking, which is unlike his personality as the Argentine is usually one of the fiercest competitors in the modern game who would go to any lengths to win a game.
Romero was hailed by the Argentine media over the international break and showed flashes of returning to his best for Tottenham with a creditable display against Arsenal.
Postecoglou will hope for the 26-year-old to return to his imperious best as Tottenham find themselves with just four points from as many games at the start of the new season.