Tottenham Hotspur Academy graduate Kyle Walker-Peters had a mixed day the other week as we faced off against Barcelona in the Champions League out at the Nou Camp.
The 21-year-old was at fault for their opener on the day and with the goal coming in the first ten minutes what should’ve been a great moment for the lad, quickly turned into a nightmare. Picking up a booking as well, manager Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to withdraw him in the second half was a solid decision and even though we went on to level and secure progression through to the next round, the above words don’t do the lad justice.
He recovered from the early mistake and I think most would happily accept that he went on to put in a reasonable performance overall, especially given how the game started for him. That was certainly Poch’s point at the fulltime whistle.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of tonight’s EFL Cup clash with Arsenal, KWP showed his maturity and confidence in his response to questions concerning that game, and importantly he credited the team for rallying round him after the mistake.
“I learnt a lot about myself. Two seconds after making the mistake, I was thinking, ‘You know, make sure you don’t die on the pitch!’ I think I went on to actually play quite well. I think I’ve got a good amount of mental toughness, to be able to do that. But again, it’s all a learning curve for me. Especially coming in the Champions League, in a stadium like that against such a good team. To be able to look past that…also with the help of my team-mates straight away.”
He went on to namecheck Danny Rose and Harry Kane in particular for having a word or two in his ear to gee him up, and admitted players have clangers like that in their career, and when you make a monumental one like that, especially as a youngster, it’s about dealing with it and not crumbling.
Those that do usually have decent careers whereas those who don’t…
Seems KWP is keeping his foot in the first camp.