Sky Sports pundit destroys Guglielmo Vicario live on air for what he did for Tottenham v Arsenal
Tottenham suffered a new blow to their Champions League qualification hopes as they were beaten 3-2 by Arsenal in the second North London derby of the season.
Ange Postecoglou’s side conceded three times in the first half of Sunday’s (28 April) clash, with second-half goals from Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min proving to be little more than consolation strikes.
While Spurs were arguably the better side for large portions of the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, their plan from set-pieces let them down and Paul Merson was very quick to slam Guglielmo Vicario for his role in the first-half collapse.
Speaking on Sky Sports Main Event (28 April, 16:11) Merson said: “I think the goalkeeper has got to read it as well.”
Michael Dawson agreed saying: “I think Ben White does a great job blocking Vicario. But if I’m Vicario, you’ve got to be stronger. Get him out your way, take everybody’s head off. Punch that ball and take the pressure off your defenders.”
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The Italian keeper only made one save in Sunday’s clash but managed to concede three goals from an xG of 0.94 as he repeatedly fell victim to the Gunners’ set-piece routine that left him pinned to the goalline, according to Fotmob.
In his 90 minutes of action, Vicario only registered one punch and failed to complete a single high claim with every cross into his penalty area causing a genuine goal threat as he was powerless to stop the Arsenal attack.
This isn’t a one-time issue either, against Newcastle last time out the 27-year-old failed to complete a single punch or high claim as once again he failed to command his area in a manner that is expected of a Premier League keeper.
Against the Magpies, the Spurs keeper flattered to deceive with the ball at his feet as well as he only completed 67 per cent of his attempted passes and only 21 per cent of his long-range efforts.
The Tottenham keeper’s ineffectiveness when it comes to crosses has been an issue throughout his tenure in the Premier League. This season, the Italian has only stopped 6.3 per cent of the deliveries into his penalty area, according to Fbref.
That puts Vicario in the bottom 42 per cent of the division’s keepers. On average, Spurs face 14.41 crosses a game and their man between the posts only managed to prevent 0.91 every 90 minutes.
There is an argument to suggest that he makes up for this with his shot-stopping ability as he does have one of the best-expected goals faced to goals conceded rates in the division, overperforming expectations by 0.15 every week.
But when Vicario is regularly facing upwards of 10 crosses a game, it doesn’t matter how many saves he makes, especially when he appears to have no ability to command his penalty area.
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Postecoglou has repeatedly insisted that he isn’t worried about qualifying for the Champions League this season, but it is hard to see how Spurs can finish in the top four when they’re shipping goals like this every week.
While Vicario is clearly the number one, he simply has to improve if Tottenham want to take the next step. If he continues to play like this week in and week out, he won’t be playing in Europe’s best competition next term.
In other Tottenham news, Sergio Reguilon wants to “get out” of Spurs amid a recent Brentford transfer update
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