Ange Postecoglou says he would not want his Tottenham players to engage in the game’s darker arts on set pieces as Ben White did for Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby. White was assigned to distract the Spurs goalkeeper, Guglielmo Vicario, taking a starting position behind him on corners and, just before the kick was taken, moving around, backing in and blocking him from reaching the ball.
The Arsenal defender performed the trick on both of his team’s first-half corners – no Spurs player was close to him – and each resulted in a goal: the first a Pierre-Emile Højbjerg own goal for 1-0, the second a Kai Havertz header for a 3-0 half-time lead. Before the first corner, White had grabbed at the cuff of one of Vicario’s gloves. None of his actions drew a whistle from the referee, Michael Oliver.
