Shearer shares how Spurs fans reacted whenever Lloris got the ball

By Jordan Harris

Alan Shearer has told Match of the Day 2 that you could hear the panic amongst the Tottenham Hotspur fans when Hugo Lloris got the ball during their North London derby defeat on Sunday.

Lloris endured a nightmare afternoon against Arsenal. He scored an own goal to break the deadlock, fumbling a deflected cross from Bukayo Saka across the line.

That moment came after another incident in which a Lloris error had somewhat set the tone for the game. Lloris dawdled on the ball for too long and nearly played a pass out for a corner under pressure from Gabriel Martinelli.

Shearer noticed Spurs fans panicking when Lloris got the ball

Clément Lenglet managed to keep the ball in. However, his attempt to play the ball out of trouble led to Martin Odegaard making a block. And ultimately, Eddie Nketiah was gifted a golden opportunity. Lloris was then able to make a very good stop to redeem himself somewhat.

But the errors from the Frenchman seem to be happening more and more often. And Shearer suggested that the Spurs fans are losing faith in their captain as he reflected on that incident early on in the game.

“It’s such an important position,” Shearer told Match of the Day 2.

“You can hear the intakes of breath when it goes back to him,” Mark Chapman replied.

“When Lloris got that ball after it went back to him, you could hear the panic when it went back to him,” Shearer added.

Lloris’ form has become a real concern for Tottenham in recent months. The 36-year-old has been such an amazing servant for the club over the years since his £12 million move. But his form has been in decline for some time.

That mistake set the tone for the rest of the game. It gave Arsenal real belief that they could get at Tottenham. And, as Shearer suggests, it made the supporters uneasy any time Lloris got the ball from then on.

It does appear that almost the entire backline needs an overhaul. Cristian Romero is clearly a player with real quality. Meanwhile, Eric Dier and Ivan Perisic have impressed at times under Antonio Conte. And the likes of Djed Spence and Ryan Sessegnon have potential.

But as a unit, the defence has been poor for some time.

Lloris is certainly the biggest concern right now. But it is probably fair to say that finding a new number one will not address all of the problems they currently have in that area of the pitch.