Everton star Anthony Gordon has laughed off claims that he is earning a reputation as a diver.
The 21-year-old's development was one of the few positives at Goodison Park last season, with Gordon racking up four goals and two assists in 35 games as Everton narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
While praise for Gordon has not been hard to come by, so too has criticism of his alleged love for a dive, with former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher among those to publicly question the youngster's willingness to go to ground.
"People have been calling me a diver of late, I’m not sure why," Gordon said in response. "If you look back at the games, I’m getting kicked quite a lot. I’ll take it as a compliment because I must be doing something well.
“I know what I bring to the table. I know I’m not a diver, videos prove that. I might go down every now and then but that’s because I’m getting kicked. I don’t know what people want me to do. I’m just going to do my best and keep getting at people.
“It happens to really good one-v-one players. If someone is good one-v-one they are going to get past a lot of players and hacked down every now and then. I’m not sure the reasons why we get called divers.
“I spoke to the gaffer [Frank Lampard] after the Liverpool game and he was saying to me ‘I don’t think people understand the speed you are travelling at’.
“Any touch to me at that speed is going to knock me off balance. Whether it’s a foul or not I’m probably going to end on the floor as I’m travelling at high speed.”
Gordon's comments come after Everton owner Farhad Moshiri penned an open letter to supporters to apologise for just how poorly the 2021/22 season went for the club.
This article was originally published on 90min as Anthony Gordon hits back at 'diving' critics.
Source: www.90min.com