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During Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Arsenal in Hong Kong, Cristian Romero almost managed to get Djed Spence injured with a sublime piece of skill inside the box.
There were plenty of positives to take for Tottenham Hotspur from their 1-0 win over Arsenal, not least the fact that they managed to keep a clean sheet against one of the top sides in the Premier League.
Thomas Frank was impressed by new signing Mohammed Kudus, and admitted that he expects the winger to get Spurs fans off their feet regularly over the coming years.
The Dane would have also been pleased that his team appeared to have come out of the fixture unscathed, with no new injuries, but that was almost not the case, with Djed Spence bearing the brunt of a challenge, owing to the skill of his own teammate.
Video: Cristian Romero’s nutmeg sees Tottenham teammate Djed Spence get clattered
The moment happened in the first half, with Romero having possession of the ball inside the Tottenham box.
When Arsenal forward Kai Havertz came running in and put a sliding tackle to win the ball, the Argentine embarrassed the Arsenal man by calmly slipping past him by putting it through his legs.
The momentum from the challenge meant that the sliding Havertz clattered Spence, catching the Tottenham full-back on his knee.
Kai Havertz got off easy after that challenge
That could have easily been interpreted as a dangerous challenge by Havertz, who had his foot well above the floor when he clattered into Spence.
One can argue that he had the time to put his foot down after Romero’s nutmeg, and one suspects that he would have received a yellow if it were a Premier League fixture.
The fact that it was a friendly meant that the referee did not brandish a card, but the nature of the challenge by Havertz shows that this game was not played like a friendly, given the rivalry between the two clubs.
That is something Thomas Frank himself noted after the game, telling The Sun: “A 1-0 score against Arsenal is an absolutely beautiful score! Yes, it is a friendly, but it’s also a very competitive match. I said before the game that games against Arsenal are never ‘friendly’.
“It means everything. I have to give respect to both teams for their competitiveness in the game. It was very competitive. I was extremely happy with our first half; that first half was completely even.”
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