New Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky ready to meet key Arsenal threat in north London derby | OneFootball

Kinsky more confident than Vicario in dealing with crosses and set-pieces

The decision to start Antonin Kinsky against Tamworth was made in order to get Tottenham’s new signing another valuable 90 minutes under his belt ahead of the North London Derby on Wednesday.

What no one expected was quite how involved in proceedings the 21-year-old would turn out to be, or that his concentration would be needed for all of 120 minutes, as the non-league side took Tottenham to extra-time before Spurs pulled away to win 3-0 in Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie at the Lamb Ground.

The fact Kinsky’s afternoon was far busier than anticipated is no bad thing. Particularly pertinent was the fact the Czech goalkeeper came confidently to collect five crosses throughout the match, and dealt well with the eccentric threat of Tommy Tonks’ remarkably long throw-ins, hurled right into the melee.

Spurs appear to have struck gold by luring Kinsky away from Slavia Prague for £12.5m

No Premier League team have scored more goals from set plays than Arsenal this season, and Spurs know all too well about that, having lost the reverse fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September by a solitary goal from Gabriel.

It was scored after Ben White and William Saliba surrounded goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, denying the Italian the opportunity to come to collect the corner. Even if he’d been able, it would have been too late. Gabriel leapt up and headed in the winner.

It was a goal Arsenal had scored plenty of times before and have repeated many times since. It was also part of a wider trend of teams targeting Spurs goalkeeper Vicario. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville famously said Vicario has “frogs in his pants” and makes him nervous, and teams have made a deliberate attempt to put pressure on Vicario from corners and free-kicks, feeling they can dominate the space around him and score past him while doing so.

With Vicario still sidelined with an ankle fracture, Kinsky will start against Arsenal on Wednesday, and Ange Postecoglou will have been left feeling hopeful that the Czech youth international can cope with the Gunners’ exceptional set pieces.

Antonin Kinsky in action for Tottenham against Tamworth

Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Just as important, though, are all the other aspects of goalkeeping. Kinsky made two decent saves down low against Tamworth, while six of his eight long passes found their intended target. His distribution had first caught the eye on his debut against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg win on Wednesday.

The way he kept that clean-sheet on his very first appearance for Spurs — and first appearance since the Czech league paused for winter — will have calmed Postecoglou about the club’s goalkeeper crisis. So too will his confident passes to unmarked teammates.

It will also have confirmed in the minds of many that for £12.5million plus add-ons, Spurs appear to have struck gold in the January transfer window by luring Kinsky away from Slavia Prague.