Tottenham endured a disastrous opening 45 minutes against strong rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, but there may have been genuine complaints about the legality of Ebelesi Eze’s goal.
Tottenham icon Les Ferdinand has claimed he did not understand the decision to concede Ebelesi Eze’s goal in the North London derby. The England winger doubled the Gunners’ lead with a low finish on Sunday afternoon after Leandro Trossard gave his side the advantage.
However, there were a number of complaints after the goal, including that a number of Arsenal players were in offside positions, blocking manager Guglielmo Vicario’s view.
Spurs icon Ferdinand was one of the Sky Sports pundits, suggesting the strike should have been called off.
“I don’t understand it. I want someone to explain to me how this doesn’t affect the goalie’s vision, but I don’t understand it. I don’t understand why we can’t see it and see that these players are blocking the goalie’s vision. I really don’t understand it.”
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In a statement, the Premier League Match Center explained the decision to concede Eze’s goal. “The referee’s declaration of the goal was confirmed by VAR, which determined that there were no Arsenal players within the goalkeeper’s field of vision and that there was no movement that would have shocked the opponents while he was in an offside position.”
Eze then appeared on the scoresheet again just seconds after half-time and produced another outstanding finish before completing his hat-trick with 15 minutes remaining. His treble certainly rubbed salt into the wound for Tottenham, who were on the verge of signing the winger in the summer, but he made a shock U-turn and completed a move to the Emirates instead.
Eze’s goal against Spurs meant he had only scored two goals for Arsenal, but by the time of the latest North London derby he had doubled his tally this season. His only goal in the Premier League came against former team Crystal Palace last month.
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He will no doubt be looking to improve his form next week when Mikel Arteta’s side go on a test run. Arsenal face German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek, before next Sunday’s London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Spurs will be licking their wounds after a dismal performance at the Emirates. They will play away to French giants Paris Saint-Germain before taking on Fulham next weekend.
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