Micah Richards highlights major weakness in 27-year-old Tottenham star’s game

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards feels Tottenham shot-stopper Guglielmo Vicario lacks aggression.

Tottenham ended up suffering at the hands of Arsenal in the North London Derby. Ange Postecoglou’s team conceded three goals within the first half. While they did bounce back with an impressive second half, it wasn’t enough to get anything out of the game.

Out of the three goals Spurs conceded in the first half, two were from corners. The goals conceded from set-pieces once again raised question marks over their £17 million summer signing Guglielmo Vicario.

While Vicario has had a good debut season, his inability to deal with balls coming into the box has become a major concern and Micah Richards feels the Italian goalkeeper needs to be a bit more aggressive while dealing with set-pieces.

Richards while speaking on Rest Is Football said: “Vicario has been outstanding (this season), but he needs to be aggressive. If someone is standing in front of you, push him out of the way, I don’t understand why he is so nice.

“Like the old-school goalkeepers back in the day, Peter Schmeichel comes to mind, even David James with his frame and his size, if someone is in your space, move him out of the way. If he can’t see the ball, he can’t get a head on it.”

Richards feels the 27-year-old needs to be a bit more aggressive inside the six-yard box, he needs to own the area. Opposition players have tried to block him and Vicario will have to show more desire to get out and deal with the balls coming in.

The game against Arsenal is not the first time the 27-year-old has been questioned for his ability to deal with aerial balls into the box. Back in February, Spurs played out a 2-2 draw against Everton where Vicario struggled with something similar. Both the goals they conceded were because of goalkeeping errors and Peter Crouch claimed the Italian goalkeeper had a chink in his armour.

The former Liverpool striker was not impressed with his ability to deal with crosses. Once again a similar problem has been identified by Richards following the defeat to Arsenal and things will have to change if the 27-year-old wants to continue as Tottenham’s number one.