Tottenham Hotspur endured an afternoon to forget as they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Ange Postecoglou’s side had two weeks to prepare for this match and a lot was riding on the game given that their north London rivals are pushing for the Premier League title.
Tottenham may have lost this fixture last season, but many fans believed this was a new and improved team, and most importantly, one that now plays on the front foot under their new manager, so they were expecting a positive performance and result.
But by the time the home fans could drink their half-time beer, they were deservedly 3-0 down and completely out of it.
Emmanuel Adebayor is one of very few players who has tasted both ends of the divide and he knows the ferocious nature of this derby.
The former striker would have been well aware that the Spurs fans would have been raging at their team’s performance and especially conceding from corners once more.
Overall, Guglielmo Vicario has had a strong first season in Tottenham colours, but he can’t argue that he was exposed in this fixture and it proved to be very costly.
Those corners proved to be nightmares for the 27-year-old to deal with and Adebayor claimed that he got ‘bullied’ during those moments, as he told Premier League Productions (28/04/24 at 4:15 pm).
READ MORE: Dermot Gallagher reacts to Tottenham-Arsenal controversy during north London derby
The problem for Vicario is that the warning signs were there. They conceded from the first corner they gave away, yet they still couldn’t stop the leakage and allowed Kai Havertz to add a third just before the break.
Yes, Spurs pulled two goals back towards the end, but in reality, the game was gone with that first-half display and Adebayor didn’t pull any punches when sharing his thoughts.
Guglielmo Vicario from corners
“I think here it’s a clear mistake because they conceded two goals with the player (Ben White) disturbing the keeper, which means that there is something wrong there,” said Adebayor.
“As a keeper, you are strongest. I can’t see anyone doing that against Lehmann when I was playing with him at Arsenal or Joe Hart when he was playing with Manchester City.
“It’s impossible, but now you are getting bullied. In the first one, you conceded one goal. But it can’t happen the second time. If you can’t do the job, then call somebody to do the job. You can’t concede two goals like that, it’s not on.”
More misery coming Tottenham’s way…
This isn’t going away. You can bet your bottom dollar that opposition teams, during these final few weeks of the season, will now put extra emphasis on Spurs’ issues from corners.
More questions will be asked of Vicario, in that regard, and you just worry that he won’t have the answers.
All in all, if Spurs continue in their current ways, then it’s going to be a big reason why Aston Villa pip them to fourth spot and Champions League football.
That defeat to Arsenal means that Villa are in the driving seat for fourth, with the London club facing Chelsea on Thursday night at Stamford Bridge, before a trip to Anfield.
The post ‘It’s not on’: Emmanuel Adebayor hits out at Tottenham 27-year-old who got 'bullied' v Arsenal appeared first on TBR Football.