Thierry Henry has suggested on Monday Night Football, which was broadcast on Sky Sports, that Erik Lamela simply must have tried the Rabona skill in Tottenham Hotspur training constantly.
Lamela produced a goal of the season contender for Tottenham in their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend.
For the £25 million Argentine (Independent) to produce the skill under such pressure was quite remarkable and even Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta moved to praise him after the match.
But Henry feels that Lamela’s goal was simply not down to chance.
Instead, the former Arsenal striker insists that Lamela must constantly be practicing those type of shots in training to have the quick-wittedness to produce it on such a big stage.
“Repetition creates habit, he must have tried that so many times that obviously we didn’t see,” he said.
“We all remember his goal that he scored before outside of the box, but at that particular moment any other player would have bent that with his right foot, but he is calm and composed because he does know that he has mastered that trick.
“Why? Because you do it so much in training because you picture that gesture so much and you do it so many times that it becomes habit.
“Anyone else would have thought I’m not doing this but because he does it so many times the brain sends a message to his leg.
“This is not normal but this is why I believe when you repeat over and over and over again this is when you arrive and you know ‘I’ve got this’.”
Henry’s claims were actually backed up by Lucas Moura, who did indeed say to Tottenham’s official website that he is consistently producing the skill in training.
Despite that, Lamela appeared to shock even his Tottenham teammates on Sunday – as Sergio Reguilon was clearly stunned, as shown by his reaction to the goal.
Lamela’s strike was the highlight of the day for Spurs, as they rather folded after that.
Spurs went down 2-1 in the North London derby, with Lamela being sent off in the second half.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
