Cristian Romero began his career in Argentina before stints in Italy for a plethora of clubs including Juventus. His performances for Atalanta during a loan spell saw Spurs become interested as he joined the club on loan before the deal became permanent. So far in his tenure for the North-London-based side, he has excelled as his playing style has translated well to English football. His aggression and on-the-ball abilities have led Ange Postecoglou to call him a ‘rock’ in the Spurs backline. The Argentine’s passing record has been emphasised by him being in the top 6% for progressive passes in the league at 5.77. However, he has started the season poorly with his defensive awareness at the forefront of his issues.

Leicester City:

In the first game of the season, Spurs started well with their dominant attacking style on show once again but the second half saw a complete change in momentum. Steve Cooper’s low block managed to withstand all the chances and then began to counter-attack. As the Foxes began to create chances a goal would come from Jamie Vardy. The 37-year-old veteran forward would be left isolated in the penalty area as Romero failed to mark him and allowed for the easy finish. The error led to the newly promoted side earning a point and left Spurs frustrated after the many chances.

Newcastle United:

After a 4-0 win against Everton, Postecoglu’s side looked back to their best with their direct approach leading to a dominant victory. However, their next outing saw them visit Newcastle United, where they would lose 2-1. The first goal would come on the counter-attack as Romero is caught out of position and Harvey Barnes is left alone. The winger would then tuck it away as he had so much time and positionally the defence were all over the place. A Dan Burn own goal would then see the visitors come back into the game, but another error would come. The centre-back would be unaware of Jacob Murphy’s run in behind, which then led to the goal as he put it across to Isak for the victory.

Arsenal:

The North-London Derby presented Spurs to improve upon their poor start with a win against their biggest rivals. Chances would come for the home side but Arsenal would ultimately find the win due to a defensive error on the corner.

 Prior to the game, it was shown that Arsenal’s corners 33% of the time are placed on the keeper and in that section, which was crowded with many bodies as planned by Arteta’s side to put pressure on Vicario. As Saka is left-footed the corner was going to be an inswinger and presented the side best at set-pieces a chance to take the lead. Romero would be marking Gabriel but didn’t put his hands on him to sense his positioning and prevent his run, which already put him on the back foot. The Argentine was then nudged out of the way, which gave Gabriel the free header and the goal. This was always going to be a threat given the Gunners’ record from corners and their physical dominance, but it could have been prevented.

They have now conceded 18 goals from set-pieces, which is the second-worst rate in the league of teams to have featured in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Gary Neville would say after the game ‘‘Romero, it’s poor defending, he’s got to stay tight on Gabriel”. Conversely, he would also say “He has to come out there for me and punch that, he has to help Romero”, this shows that his goalkeeper’s frantic behaviour was also an issue in the eventual goal.

Conclusion

Overall, Romero has clearly been shown to have started the season poorly with many errors which has led Spurs to lose points. On the other hand, some people could suggest that it is the way that the side has been set up is the reason for some of the issues. Under Ange Postecoglu they have played entertaining football with a high line and attacking fullbacks. Due to this, the full-backs can also get high up the pitch and leave the centre-backs with less protection which can be seen in transition in games like Leicester. 

Furthermore, the game against Arsenal highlights the quality of Arteta compared to Postecoglu. The Spaniard dealt with the adversity of losing key players like Rice and Odergaard and managed to win. Arteta played defensively through the 4-4-2 formation, with the centre being tight and compact whilst the wingers doubled up on defensive duties to prevent an overload through the full-backs. But by Arteta adapting to the circumstances, he managed to pick up the three points, whilst Ange’s stubbornness and lack of adapting seems to be catching up with them this season.

Therefore, with Spurs looking to find momentum, a trip to Coventry in the Carabao cup will serve as a good way to get back to their best.