It is safe to say that Sunday’s North London derby did not go to plan for anyone involved with Tottenham Hotspur. Unless, of course, Erik Lamela had planned to come off the bench, score a rabona and get sent off on purpose.
Someone not too far from here had confidently predicted pre-match that Harry Kane would be the deciding factor in the weekend’s big clash. ‘Gareth Bale’s resurgence’ and ‘Kane’s ‘stellar relationship with Son Heung Min’ were cited as further evidence that Spurs, fresh from five consecutive victories, would be leaving the Emirates with the points. Arsenal made a mockery of this hypothesis by dominating their rivals for all bar the final few minutes when Kane could have saved his side, as well as the reputation of this writer, had he scored a free-kick rather than striking the post.
Even had Kane snuck an undeserved equaliser, he would still not have been the Spurs player being discussed in WhatsApp groups across the country. That dubious honour had long since been secured by the maverick Erik Lamela.
As the injured Son left the field on 19 minutes, Spurs belief in victory appeared to depart with him. What replaced him, though, was box office entertainment. Lamela seemed hell-bent on making his on-field stint as short as possible, petulantly lashing and kicking out at a variety of opponents for a number of non-apparent reasons. His reckless attitude was being questioned long before, on 33 minutes, he decided that a simple, weaker-footed goal attempt wouldn’t be any fun. Instead, Lamela opted for the less conventional nutmeg rabona. It was a good decision.
It was, perhaps, the first and last good decision that the Argentine wrecking ball made on Sunday, but what a decision it was. Sky Sports quickly placed the goal among the pantheon of Premier League classics. Twitter went into overdrive and viewers across the country, whether supporters or neutrals, made that involuntary squealing noise that only a wondergoal from nowhere can provoke. It was brilliant, it was precise and it was fun. The perfect tonic for the enforced lack of derby day atmosphere.
And so, the opening act of the Lamela show was in the books. Half time came and went and Arsenal drew level and forged ahead. This didn’t seem to sit well with Tottenham’s goalscorer. Quite how he had avoided a yellow until his scythe on Thomas Partey in the 68th minute is anyone’s guess. Whether Mourinho would have acted upon the warning signs had he not used all of his substitutions will never be known. Either way, absolutely nobody could have been the slightest bit surprised when Lamela decided to throw a forearm into Kieran Tierney’s face to prompt his early exit. ‘It should have been a third yellow’ said the Sky Sports running commentary and that was, in reality, understating the matter.
Erik Lamela’s performance on Sunday spanned the sublime and the ridiculous and demonstrated a quite staggering lack of discipline. His insistence on getting himself sent off let down his team and will no doubt have earned him the wrath of his under strain manager. For us neutrals, though, waiting for the reintroduction of supporters to breathe some life into a sometimes flat season, Lamela’s crazy afternoon was a most welcome sideshow. Here’s to the mavericks!
