Paul Merson has claimed that Tottenham ace Dele Alli and Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea are going through tough spells of form at their respective clubs.
Alli has not had the best of seasons in North London while De Gea, despite being widely seen as the best goalkeeper in world football, has made some high profile errors in recent appearances.
In last week’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea, the Spain international spilled what should have been a straightforward save to allow Marcos Alonso to score against him.
Merson has suggested that form is temporary and class is permanent when discussing Alli and De Gea.
“I find it hard to have a go at this goalie because I just think this man’s a special, special goalkeeper who’s just going through a bad time,” said Merson on Sky Sports News on Saturday [01:55pm].
“You know Dele Alli’s going through a bad time at Tottenham. He’s going through a bad time and this lad’s going through a bad time at Man United.
“It’s horrible because he’s had nothing to do and he’s trying to catch this when, you know what, he’s playing that badly at the moment you would have thought he would have just gone for the punch and get it away. He’s in two minds there probably.”
OPINION
Alli had an unforgettable summer with England at the World Cup last year, but it is clear than he and some of his team-mates have struggled this term in North London. Even Spurs’ non-English players who reached the last four of the World Cup have struggled at stages this season. Tottenham players just need a good summer off because their form has been poor in the second-half of this campaign and that could be down to fatigue. Alli is among those who have not been good enough lately and it is fair of Merson to compare him to Man United goalkeeper De Gea. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and everyone makes mistakes. The issue with goalkeepers is that mistakes often lead to conceding goals. Let’s face it, De Gea has been almost flawless at Old Trafford in the last few seasons. He should be forgiven for the last few weeks.