‘He’s Out Of Control’ – Pundit Slams Arsenal Ace For ‘Leg Breaking’ tackle

Former Premier League player Shay Given has slammed Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah for his socking late challenge that could have broken Guglielmo Vicario’s leg in the North London derby.

It was a feisty North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon with seven yellow cards being handed out and both sides managing to score twice to make it an incredibly entertaining affair.

Derby days are always more heated and aggressive than any usual Premier League game given the hatred within the stands between supporters and that always manages to filter down onto the pitch, and this was no different.

Arsenal squandered a lead twice in the game which will be very frustrating for Mikel Arteta especially given they were the home side as well, but he may well have also been counting himself and his team very lucky to still have all 11 men on the pitch.

Eddie Nketiah Lucky To Avoid Red Card

This is because Nketiah went in with a very rash and dangerous tackle on Spurs goalkeeper Vicario, and somehow the Italian shot-stopper managed to escape unharmed despite his leg getting caught in the challenge from the Arsenal striker.

Nketiah didn’t just catch the Spurs keeper late, he crashed into the shot-stopper and somehow was only handed a yellow card, despite VAR also taking a look at the incident.

Should Eddie Nketiah have received a red card? 🔴 @No1ShayGiven and @IanWright0 had their say…#MOTD2 pic.twitter.com/MJ1ss87dWr

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 24, 2023

Given spoke of his disgust at the challenge on Match of the Day 2, he said: “You don’t like seeing people getting red cards but for me, this is probably the most red card I’ve ever seen all season.

“Vicario’s passed the ball and he’s so late, he’s out of control with his body and that’s leg breaking. I think as it runs through you can see he manages to get his leg off the ground [just in time] and his knee twisting.

VAR Failed To Spot Reckless Challenge

“It’s a yellow card and the referee sees it but surely the VAR should say it’s worth a look at least, I think that’s violent and I think he’s very very lucky.”

It was a disgusting challenge from Nketiah and he clearly had a rush of blood to the head given the emotions and intensity of the game, but he needed to take that out of his game as he could’ve hurt his team but also, seriously injured a fellow professional.