The North London derby will be one of four matches that Cristian Romero will miss for Tottenham after picking up his second red card of the season against Manchester United
Jay Bothroyd believes Cristian Romero should be stripped as Tottenham Hotspur captain, labelling the Argentina defender as a "liability".
Romero, 27, was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Manchester United midfielder Casemiro inside the first half-hour of their 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford. The centre-back caught his South American counterpart high on the ankle after a 50/50 challenge inside the Spurs half, which means he will miss their next four matches, including the North London derby against Arsenal on February 22.
It was the second red card of the season after the central defender was sent off during their defeat against Liverpool in December for a second bookable offence. Romero now has six red cards in 152 matches for Spurs and the recent dismissal comes in light of his shock comments on social media taking aim at the club's transfer policy during the transfer window.
Bothroyd argued that the 27-year-old should be leading by example and despite being one of the best defenders in the Premier League, the Argentina international is proving to be a liability.
He said: "Of course he is [a liability]. I think as a captain, you should be leading by example on and off the field.
"You're going to have tough times, Tottenham are having a tough time right now, whether we like it or not, Romero is one of the top defenders in the Premier League when he is on his game, when he's not having these discliplinary problems, he's one of the best.
FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
"He's fast, strong, he scores goals, good in both boxes but he has become a liability. I'm surprised Thomas Frank for sticking by him, I have to commend him for that because I would look at him and say, 'I can't trust him anymore, he is a liability', I think they should strip him of the captaincy."
Dermot Gallagher was also speaking as part of Ref Watch and he described the tackle from the Spurs captain as "really, really" poor.
He said: "Really, really poor challenge. It looks a poor challenge and when you look close up, it's a really poor challenge.
"What I will say, it's a good identification from the referee, recognises it and deals with it, it's a really poor challenge. When I refereed, if someone went in with a straight leg it's much more dangerous than a bent leg because it's so forceful.
"With the considerations, it doesn't have to tick them all, if you look at that tackle, intensity, degree of control and the force, it ticks enough boxes."
Romero will begin his suspension on Tuesday when Newcastle United visit North London. It's a crucial game for both clubs with Spurs languishing in 14th while the Magpies were booed off on Saturday after their 3-2 defeat at home to Brentford.
The final match of his suspension will be against Crystal Palace after missing Arsenal and Fulham, before returning in mid-March when Thomas Frank's side travel to Liverpool.