Archie Gray was the unlikely hero in Tottenham’s victory over Crystal Palace.
Tottenham secured a 1-0 away win against Crystal Palace on Sunday at Selhurst Park, with Gray scoring his first senior goal.
Richarlison saw two goals ruled out by VAR for offside, which could’ve come back to haunt Thomas Frank’s side on another day.
There has been talk of Spurs replacing Frank with Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner in recent days, so getting a victory against his Eagles team is a huge statement win for the Tottenham manager.
Archie Gray makes hilarious claim after Crystal Palace goal
Micky Van de Ven received many plaudits for his performance against Palace, but it was Gray’s goal just before half-time that sealed a crucial three points for Tottenham.
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His close-range header was not only his first goal for Tottenham, but it marked his first-ever goal in senior football, despite having made 112 appearances between his time at Leeds and Spurs so far.
Speaking to Match of the Day in a post-match interview, Gray revealed his delight and finally bagging his first goal, and dropped a brilliant line on how his family will react to his moment in the spotlight.
“Yeah, it’s incredible. I don’t even know how to sum it up, to be honest,” Gray began.
“(It’s) a feeling that I’ve been waiting for a long time, especially after (the goal) that got took off me against Leicester, but it’s incredible.”
When asked if he thought the goal would ever come, Gray replied: “I mean, after, I can’t even remember how many appearances I’m on now, I’ll give myself a little bit of leeway because I’ve been playing centre-back and left-back, but to be fair, I should’ve got a goal before this.
“So yeah, it’s just an incredible feeling to get it.”
Gray must stick with midfield strategy
Capable of operating in central defence, full-back and in midfield, Gray is a highly versatile youngster who has the talent to be a starting player for Tottenham at a host of positions.
However, if he wants to have the best chance of being a key member of the starting line-up for Spurs in the long term, then choosing one specific position and sticking with it must be his focus, and that should probably be in central midfield.
In Kevin Danso, Cristian Romero, Kota Takai, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and Van de Ven, Tottenham have plenty of quality options in central defence, and Gray would have a tough time cementing regular football in that positional battle.
However, central midfield is a different story.
Joao Palhinha is only on loan from Bayern Munich and is already 30-years-old, Xavi Simons and James Maddison are more effective in attacking midfield roles, and Yves Bissouma looks set to leave Spurs in the near future.
Lucas Bergvall still hasn’t found his best position, and that leaves just Pape Sarr – who is currently away at AFCON – and Rodrigo Bentancur as his main competition for a defensive midfield role, and Gray looked at home next to the latter at the base of Spurs’ midfield against Palace.
Therefore, is route to Spurs stardom surely lies in central midfield.