Noel Egan was surprised not to see VAR intervene after Gabriel scored for Arsenal against Tottenham.

The ex-FIFA official claims he would have given a foul to Cristian Romero in the build-up to the Gunners’ decisive goal.
Gabriel appeared to push Romero before heading home from a corner as Arsenal claimed a 1-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (15 September).

And Egan – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – was surprised not to see VAR get involved.

“I would not have been surprised if the goal had been ruled out,” Egan said.

In my opinion, just the smallest bit of contact when a player is about to jump can throw his timing off completely. When I was refereeing I would be watching for things like that and would give the decisions to the defender.

There was a push from Gabriel on Romero. Yes, it wasn’t strong, but clearly, the defender thought there was enough contact on him.
He could be seen turning and calling for a foul after Gabriel was left with a free header. To me, this is a strange one, it is a North London derby and you could argue that the push was soft.

However, the push did occur, and it allowed Gabriel a free header. I have to say that I thought that would at least be reviewed by VAR. However, Romero seemed to be the only player calling for a foul, maybe that is because it was so obvious.

“When I saw it I thought that push should have lead to the goal being disallowed.”

Ange Postecoglou unlucky as Arsenal goal stands against Tottenham?

Over the years, the North London derby has often been a fixture full of goals.

However, in the two rivals’ most recent encounter, Gabriel’s header was enough to settle the contest.

Romero will no doubt feel as though he should have had a foul against him, and the Argentinian does have a case for that.

However, ultimately Tottenham didn’t do enough to warrant winning the match. Therefore, Postecoglou and his players will need to take a long hard look in the mirror and find some form fast.

In other Tottenham news, Jamie O’Hara couldn’t believe what he saw from one player against Arsenal.

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James Maddison slammed after Tottenham loss v Arsenal, Postecoglou told to act

Bryan King claims James Maddison will need to turn his Tottenham performances around if he wants to earn another England cap.

The ex-Spurs scout wasn’t surprised to see the midfielder hooked during the North London derby.

Maddison struggled to make an impact as Arsenal claimed a 1-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (15 September).

And King – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – believes a player of his quality should be offering much more, which is also down to Ange Postecoglou and Spurs’ coaches.

“Maddison has got to up his game or he won’t be getting another England call-up,” King said.

We didn’t really see him at all. I thought his performance was average. A player of his quality, you expect him to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

However, he didn’t, we hardly saw him. Therefore, I don’t think it was a surprise that he came off, and I don’t think it was to him either by the looks of it. He just needs to get back to playing football.
“I watch him and he doesn’t get in the game like he used to. These are the things which he and the coaches need to start working on.

A player of his so-called quality has got to be instrumental in controlling the game. However, he certainly wasn’t against Arsenal.”

James Maddison struggles for Tottenham against Arsenal

In truth, Maddison has struggled throughout much of 2024.