Tottenham endured a woeful opening 45 minutes against fierce rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium but they might have had some real complaints about the legality of Eberechi Eze's goal
Tottenham icon Les Ferdinand claimed he couldn't fathom the decision to allow Eberechi Eze's goal in the North London derby. The England winger had doubled the Gunners' lead on Sunday afternoon with a low finish after Leandro Trossard had given his side the advantage.
But there were a number of complaints after the goal, with some suggesting that a host of Arsenal players were stood in an offside position and impeding Guglielmo Vicario's view.
Spurs icon Ferdinand - who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports - was among those and suggested that the strike should have been chalked off.
He said: "I don't understand. I need someone to explain to me how this doesn't affect the goalkeeper's sight. I don't understand. I don't understand how that's not looked at and seen that these players are blocking the goalkeeper's view of it. I really don't."
A statement from the Premier League's Match Centre explained the decision to allow Eze's goal. It read: "The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that there were no Arsenal players in the line of vision of the goalkeeper, and they made no movement to impact an opponent while in an offside position."
Eze was then on the scoresheet once again just seconds after half-time with another standout finish before completing his hat-trick with 15 minutes to play. His treble certainly rubbed salt into the wounds of Tottenham having been on the verge of signing the winger in the summer, only for him to perform a shock u-turn and complete a move to the Emirates instead.
Eze's strikes against Spurs saw him double his haul for the season, having only netted twice for Arsenal prior to the latest edition of the North London derby - his only other Premier League goal coming against former side Crystal Palace last month.
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He will certainly be aiming to extend his form over the next week as Mikel Arteta's men face a testing run of fixtures. Arsenal take on German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek, ahead of another London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
Spurs in the meantime will be licking their wounds after their dismal showing at the Emirates. They take on French giants Paris Saint-Germain away from home before a clash with Fulham next weekend.