Ben White’s Antics With Vicario Was Just Strategy – Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham manager, Ange Postecoglou has come out to react to Ben White’s sh*thousery on Guglielmo Vicario during Arsenal’s win against Tottenham last Sunday. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, he sees what White did as a strategy to win the game and nothing else, and even if people have tried to label it, it still feels like nothing but strategy to him.

Ange added that he never worries about things like that when his focus is more on building teams that can win trophies.

HIs words, “It’s a strategy. You can label it but it’s a strategy. I’m not casting judgment. If people are going to think that’s going to give them an ­advantage or whatever … I don’t worry about that stuff. I just try to focus on building teams that win things.

If it’s not going to be that then it’s going to be something else. I know it’s great theatre. Whether he [White] is trying to undo his glove, tickle his armpit or whatever … I don’t care. I try to get my players not to focus on that stuff. If you want to go down that ­avenue … what’s he [Vicario] ­supposed to do? Throw a punch and knock him out? Or say: ‘Please don’t touch me?’ What does that do? ­Seriously, we’re not in the schoolyard. To be honest, if I saw one of my players do it, I’d be saying: ‘Mate, seriously? Get the ball and play some football.’

I watched the Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid [on Tuesday] and there was a couple of times they went in on the keeper and it was a foul straight away,” Postecoglou said. “It is a weird one for me. You’re allowed to reach out [to the referees’ body]. We just wanted some clarity on what the actual position is on interference on the keeper. I’m ancient and I always thought that the keeper was a bit of a protected species. Maybe that’s shifted now and I missed the memo. Did I get clarity? No, not really.”

WOW.

Arsenal Football Club is an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. Arsenal compete in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.

The club has won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, 17 FA Community Shields, the Football League Centenary Trophy, one European Cup Winners’ Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In terms of trophies won, it is the third-most successful club in English football.

After conducting an overhaul in the club’s operating model to coincide with Wenger’s departure, Spaniard Unai Emery was named as the club’s new head coach on 23 May 2018. He became the club’s first ever ‘head coach’ and second manager from outside the United Kingdom.

In Emery’s first season, Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League and as runner-up in the Europa League. On 29 November 2019, Emery was dismissed as manager and former player and assistant first team coach Freddie Ljungberg was appointed as interim head coach. On 20 December 2019, Arsenal appointed former club captain Mikel Arteta as the new head coach. Arsenal finished the league season in eighth, their lowest finish since 1994–95, but beat Chelsea 2–1 to earn a record-extending 14th FA Cup win. After the season, Arteta’s title was changed from head coach to manager.