Gary Neville reveals controversial VAR decision in Tottenham’s defeat against Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur suffered yet another defeat against arch-rivals Arsenal, emerging on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline in a fiercely contested north London derby.

They failed to get the better of their neighbours at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the third time in a row and are now six points behind the Gunners in the Premier League table.

Tottenham had several chances to take the lead early in the game, but they were guilty of being wasteful in the final third and were punished for their profligacy.

However, the momentum of the game would have swung in their favour if Jurrien Timber had been sent off for a dangerous tackle, but he got away with a yellow card.

As is customary with every other potentially match-defining event, the incident was reviewed by the video assistant referees (VAR), but they backed the on-field decision by referee Jarred Gillett.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville shared behind-the-scenes information on the VAR’s decision during the game.

“Just listening to what is being said in Stockley Park,” Neville said live on Sky Sports. “Timber touches the ball, but he doesn’t follow through over it which is what saved him from it being a red card.”

A potential sending-off for Timber would have changed the complexion of the game, but Spurs can only have themselves to blame for the defeat as they failed to create anything worthwhile in the final third.

Arsenal created the better chances, but both sides cancelled each other out for over an hour until Gabriel Magalhaes rose highest to meet Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner with a bullet header.

Gabriel’s 64th-minute strike was enough to condemn Spurs to their second consecutive defeat, having lost 2-1 to Newcastle United before the international break.

Defeat on home turf means Spurs have now amassed just four points from their opening four games and are 13th in the Premier League.