There is no bigger fixture in a football club’s season than a local derby against your fiercest rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur were cruelly reminded of the difficulty of such a big game, as they lost 1-0 to rivals Arsenal in the North London derby.
And now one of Tottenham’s top players has taken to social media to seemingly criticise the club for how they acted before the match
Defender Cristian Romero appeared to be at fault for Arsenal’s winner, as Brazilian defender Gabriel easily shrugged Romero off before scoring the header which sealed the three points for the visitors.
After the game, Romero responded to the criticism he faced by sharing a post on X from Argentine TV reporter Gaston Edul that blamed Tottenham for how they managed the return of their players from international duty.
The post, originally written in Spanish, translated to: “Tottenham lost to Arsenal again.
“They weren’t able to fight until the end because they weren’t across the details.
“It was the only Premier League club that made their international players return, on their own and without proper logistics, on the decision of the club’s leadership.
“They gave away the advantage because their players arrived with less rest than the others: Cuti Romero played with tiredness.”
Five days before the fixture, Romero started for Argentina in their 2-1 defeat to Colombia during the World Cup qualifiers campaign.
Typically national federations are responsible for organising the travel to and from their player’s clubs for any international game, but some clubs decide to organise private travel to get their players back as soon as possible.
However, Tottenham do not often feel the need to do this and, as Thursday was a day off for the club’s players, they decided that this would not be necessary for Romero, and it appears that 26-year-old is suggesting that this impacted his tiredness, and therefore his performance, during the North London derby.
Romero later deleted his reposting of Edul’s claim.
Son Heung-min called out for the ‘most deluded interview of the season’ after Spurs lose to Arsenal
Spurs were beaten thanks to a second-half header from Gabriel as their poor set-piece record under Ange Postecoglou continued at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Three of the last four goals scored by the Gunners against their fierce rivals have come from corners and a dogged defensive performance from Mikel Arteta’s men ensured it was Tottenham’s worst start to a Premier League season for nine years.
Despite having four points from four games this season, Postecoglou remained confident in his post-match interview, asserting he always wins trophies in his second season at a club.
His interview raised eyebrows and Son’s comments have also come under the microscope.
The 32-year-old claimed Spurs ‘dominated’ the game against their rivals which has led to some fans calling him ‘deluded’.
“We dominated the game, the football was there, we just conceded from a set-piece again,” he told Sky Sports.
“We did it last season and it is really frustrating. I am sure the fans are also very disappointed. We have to improve, 100%, it’s a tough moment and we have to stick together.
“We are getting into the final third but the players have to take the responsibility to score. It is the hardest part of football, making the right decision and being clinical.
“We will bounce back strong, there is a long way to go.”
Spurs conceded 16 goals from set-pieces last season out of 54 excluding penalties but Postecoglou refused to be drawn on their apparent weakness from dead ball situations.
The ex-Celtic boss said Tottenham worked on them like any other in the league but came unstuck against their rivals.
He told Sky: “I know, I know, for some reason people think I don’t care about set pieces and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages.
“I understand that. Like I said, we work on them all the time like we do for every other team. You know that they’re a threat, as I said, for the most part, we handled them really well today, but we switched off for one and we paid a price and you learn from that and you move on.
“But it is what it is, you know, it’s my burden to carry mate and I’m happy to do that. It’s not like, like I’ve always said, for me, there’s a bigger picture that’s at play here that’s much more important than the finer details of us getting to where we want to. For us, the way forward is to try to turn the football we’re playing now into something meaningful.”