Arsenal ‘should be grateful’ Dele Alli didn’t overreact to bottle throw, says Mauricio Pochettino

After putting Tottenham 2-0 up, Alli was struck by a bottle thrown by an Arsenal fan

Miguel Delaney
Chief Football Writer
Thursday 20 December 2018 16:21 GMT
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Mauricio Pochettino believes Arsenal “should be grateful” to Dele Alli for not creating a bigger problem out of getting struck on the head with a plastic bottle during Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 win in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final.

Arsenal on Thursday revealed they had caught the individual responsible for the incident, which happened shortly after Alli himself made it 2-0. The player’s only response was to complain to the referee, and then make a gesture to signify “2-0” to the Arsenal fans. Pochettino felt others would have made a far bigger issue of it.

“It was an amazing reaction,” the Spurs manager said. “In another country, the player would be down on the pitch, creating a big problem. Dele was so honest and professional. His behaviour was top.

“The Arsenal people, the club, should be grateful to him. In a different situation, the player can go down and create a massive problem which is difficult to handle for the referee. Sometimes people criticise some actions of him during the game but today it's good to praise him because his behaviour was top.

“Of course he's more mature but still a kid, he's so young. He's so clever. It's normal, it's a process – like us. We're all growing and learning. It's a situation that I hate, this type of action. I know Arsenal will take responsibility and fix that problem but we need to praise Dele. His behaviour was fantastic.”

Pochettino did have some sympathy for Arsenal in the situation.

“It's not fair for Arsenal, the club, the fans to pay for one… what word can I use? I don’t want to be wrong but I think everyone realises! You cannot pay for one. Of course after the game, I'm more relaxed. Arsenal cannot pay for one person – yesterday I said people but I need to learn! I'm still improving my English.

“One person cannot create a mess in a club like Arsenal. Arsenal is going to take a big decision, with responsibility to fix. It's such a dangerous thing, if the bottle hit his eyes. We're then talking about a very bad thing. There's no point when you go to enjoy a game and that happens.”

Pochettino meanwhile revealed that Mousa Dembele still won’t be fit for Tottenham until the New Year, having suffered an ankle injury in November.

“Until January, then we'll see his evolution. I don't know if he's one week, two weeks or one month. We need to assess him day by day. Maybe he's going to be ready to start to train with the team before January but not at a level of fit to play.

“I was talking this morning with him, a long chat. He feels fit but it's still hard for him. He's recovering well, we hope ASAP he will be back.”

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