Gary Neville fumes over ‘absolute shambles’ seen in Tottenham vs Arsenal
Gary Neville was not pleased in the opening 15 minutes of the North London derby, as a referee technical issue saw play halted.
In the ninth minute, official Peter Bankes had seemingly lost communication with one of his linesmen, and the game was forced to wait for the issue to be fixed.
After a quick start, which saw Arsenal open out the doors instantly against Tottenham and the game having an exciting flow, Neville expressed his frustration quite vividly.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: “This is absolute nonsense. One of the most important games of the season that has had a fantastic start to it, really quick, and we are now two to three minutes stopped with players having to re-warm up again and reset. Absolute shambles.”
While at the time, the game had only stopped for a couple of minutes, the issue would not be resolved until the 13th minute.
Neville suggested that they should have played on at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as referees back in the day were able to work without having direct communication with their linesmen.
Igor Tudor took advantage of stoppage in Tottenham vs Arsenal
Neville, as a neutral, was of course frustrated that the tempo of the game could have been affected. Both sides were going into tackles at a strong pace, and if you had not already known, it certainly felt like a derby game.
However, in the opening moments of the match, it was the visitors that were having the most joy with three shots before the break of play.
Igor Tudor seemingly welcomed the stoppage, as Micky van de Ven was seen on the sidelines discussing matters with the head coach.
Whatever the Croatian said worked a treat, as the following 15 minutes saw the Lilywhites get more joy against the Gunners.
Although Eberechi Eze scored the opening goal, Randal Kolo Muani responded with an instant finish to equalise.
Have there been early signs of improvement under Tudor?
While it was Arsenal that opened out the gates strongly and ultimately notched the opening goal through Eze, there were signs that the structure of the team was more rigid.
The centre-backs were aggressive in their challenges and did not shy from getting stuck into the opposition.
The spaces between the lines were tightened, and they bounced back immediately to going behind as Randal Kolo Muani scored his first goal in the Premier League for Spurs.
The immediate response is the exact mentality that the Lilywhites have been missing this season.
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