Ian Wright takes a swipe at Tottenham Hotspur star Richarlison for getting caught offside several times against Brighton this week.
Spurs suffered a heavy blow away to Robert De Zerbi on Thursday, who at one point was already 4-0 up. However, Tottenham were not completely out of the game at any point – Richarlison could have scored twice but failed to get off the mark in time.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright found himself in the offside trap several times in his day.
The Englishman was one of the best strikers when he played and there are few who can assess a striker’s game better than him.
Wright spoke about Richarlison on his podcast yesterday and the Arsenal legend was very disappointed with the Tottenham Hotspur striker.
He took it out on the Brazilian because he wasn’t clever enough to delay his run a bit. He also argued that the fact that he was making the same mistake over and over again was simply unacceptable.
Wright said in his podcast, “To be honest, when I watch Richarlison, the thing that upsets me the most in the current striker situation is why he goes so early when he has so much space.
“The midfielder or the player who is going to pass to him has so much time, he sees the back of the defender, but he still goes early. He could have scored two goals, two goals disallowed, and you only have to look at this guy’s number, you see the limits we’re dealing with.
“For me, as a manager, it’s unfortunate to come in and say this is not acceptable. It’s not acceptable when you can see – ‘Okay, I’m not going to pass him. I have so much space.’ He has so much time.”
Richarlison needs to work on his movement:
One of Tottenham’s big positives in December is that Richarlison has finally found his feet.
The 26-year-old Brazilian underwent surgery after a shockingly poor first 18 months and has since returned a different player. He had scored four goals in three games before Thursday and could easily have scored six in four games against Brighton if he had just executed his actions in time.
Ange Postecoglou’s system, based on free play, means that Richarlison will have scoring opportunities in almost every game. His finishing has been excellent recently, so he just needs to master the run into the back line.
Tottenham next play Bounrmeouth, where there will be plenty of room for Richarlison. If he can plan his runs properly, he could score a goal or two.