Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons following the North London Derby loss to Arsenal. Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal of the game after breaking free of Cristian Romero to head home Bukayo Saka’s second-half corner with Vicario also taking some blame.

Since his arrival in North London from Empoli last summer, the Italy international has become somewhat of a fans’ favourite. His performances, passion and character quickly made it clear why Ange Postecoglou wanted him, however gradually a worrying issue emerged.

Injuries in defence saw clean sheets become irregular with Spurs often conceding goals from set-pieces. The 2-2 draw against Everton saw Vicario brutally exposed with Sean Dyche’s side scoring from a corner and a free-kick. From dead ball scenarios later in the season, West Ham, Arsenal and Chelsea all scored and took points away from Spurs.

Their inability to defend corners in particular quickly became clear with opponents often targeting Vicario. The Gunners have become set-piece experts in the last 12 months with their superiority and Tottenham’s fragility made clear by Gabriel’s headed goal on Sunday.

Though the delivery was just a few yards in front of him, Vicario remained on his line and thus was unable to get anywhere near Gabriel’s effort. The major problem was made perfectly clear last season and while some improvements have been made, Vicario is clearly still struggling.

Fresh off the defeat, Vicario posted to Instagram with an emotionally honest message. “It hurts. Thank you for your incredible support. “Heads up, proud, of who we are, we go again. COYS [white heart emoji].”

 

The 27-year-old often posts on social media after Tottenham games and while it is certainly nice to see a public reaction, a response is needed on the pitch. Fixing his biggest weakness is firmly in his own hands and it is perfectly clear what he must do.

The penalty box is his to command and if he feels as though a player is going to block him, placing a teammate in front will help matters. Following that, he must show no fear once he has decided to claim the ball or punch away from danger and it is absolutely necessary he must do everything in his power to win or keep possession.

Vicario also very clearly has the support of Postecoglou with the Tottenham boss asked about his role in Arsenal’s goal ahead of the Carabao Cup clash against Coventry. “I think there’s a collective responsibility there within something like that,” he said in a press conference.

“It’s a moment where we switched off in many respects from our focus, which had been really good up until that point and we got punished for it.”