What Vicario did to David Raya and Ange Postecoglou was only half-right with Tottenham statement
A North London Derby with five goals should be an end-to-end classic yet somehow this latest edition of the grand old clash managed to be nothing of the sort.
All five goals arrived on Sunday without either side particularly needing to do much to get them.
First Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed an Arsenal corner into his own net, then Spurs got caught on the counter while expecting a penalty at the other end before gifting the visitors another set piece goal when Kai Havertz was handed the freedom of the box amid some dubious attention on Guglielmo Vicario.
The Gunners then showed their generosity to Ange Postecoglou's team. First David Raya booted a pass straight at Cristian Romero before Declan Rice kicked Ben Davies up into the air to hand their hosts a penalty that Son Heung-min dispatched.
Three shots on target from Arsenal and three goals, two shots on target from Tottenham and two goals. All the talk pre-match was that gung-ho Tottenham would fall apart as free-scoring Arsenal would run riot. That wasn't truthfully the case even if the scoreline might suggest it.
Arsenal created very little, with 38% possession — only 28% in the first half — and around half of Tottenham's passes and nine attempts at goal, while needing to make 26 clearances out of their own box. The problem for Spurs was that they didn't create too much either, Raya not having to make a single save. Vicario had to make one from Bakayo Saka, although there were suggestions that there might have been an offside in the build-up.
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