Arsenal have received an early boost for the North London Derby with one Tottenham players unavailable for Thomas Frank
Tom Canton Arsenal reporter and Kieran Horn Digital Sports Journalist
13:50, 07 Feb 2026
Cristian Romero will serve a lengthy ban after being sent off for Tottenham against Manchester United
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Cristian Romero will serve a lengthy ban after being sent off for Tottenham against Manchester United(Image: (Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images))
Cristian Romero will be absent from the North London Derby against Arsenal for Tottenham Hotspur following his straight red card during the clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford. The defender was dismissed for serious foul play after a dreadful tackle on Casemiro.
This marks Romero's second red card of the Premier League campaign, resulting in an extended suspension. The standard three-match ban will be increased to four games.
Multiple verdicts arrived on Romero's challenge with several pundits agreeing it was sending off and a needless challenge to make by Romero. TNT Sports co-commentator Ally McCoist said: "He definitely catches studs on ankle. It does look really painful. I don’t think he needs to follow through, I think it’s ridiculous.
Cristian Romero is sent off
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Tottenham captain Cristian Romero was shown a red card against Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
"There’s a way he can challenge for the ball and win the ball, it’s madness. He’s just letting his teammates down again, he doesn’t need to do that."
Consequently, he will be unavailable for the fixtures against Newcastle United (H), Arsenal (H), Fulham (A) and Crystal Palace (H). The timing couldn't be more damaging as Tottenham attempt to salvage their campaign.
The suspension follows the Argentine's recent social media post earlier this week, where he highlighted the limited squad options available to his manager, Thomas Frank.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank reacts
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Thomas Frank answered several questions on Cristian Romero in his latest Tottenham press conference(Image: Getty Images)
"Great effort from all my team-mates yesterday, they were incredible," Romero, who was absent from the 2-2 stalemate with Manchester City due to illness, posted on Instagram.
"I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn't feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available - unbelievable but true and disgraceful. We'll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together.
"All that's left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans." Thomas Frank was unsurprisingly asked about that outburst in his Thursday press conference, with his response a telling one.
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He said: "If you want to know what he meant, you of course need to ask him. That’s the right way to take that question.
"Cuti is a very passionate character and player who wants to leave everything on the pitch and is very ambitious. He wants to win every single time.
"Sometimes when you are like that, sometimes there can be an outburst. It happened this time and it’s something we of course dealt with and dealt with internally."