Mauricio Pochettino: Arsenal Must Find 'Stupid' Fan in Dele Alli Bottle Incident

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has called on Arsenal to find the "stupid person" who tossed a plastic bottle at Dele Alli during the Carabao Cup quarter-final match between the two teams on Wednesday. 

The Spurs midfielder was hit by the object as he prepared to take a throw-in during the second half, having scored the second goal in a 2-0 triumph for his side. Pochettino said he was disappointed to see what had happened and hopes the Gunners take action, per Ben Pearce of ESPN FC:

"It was lucky that it wasn't a big issue. For me, OK we play a derby and we hate each other in a good way, but that is in a bad way when you go to damage some people or an opponent.

"I cannot talk in general because only one stupid person made a mistake. I respect the Arsenal fans, like I respect the professionals from Arsenal and I respect our fans.

"I hope that Arsenal take responsibility and through the camera they can identify [the person] because it wasn't a problem, but it can happen to be a big problem—some big issue, and how are we going to fix it?"

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Broadcaster Jacqui Oatley posted the following image showing the moment Alli was struck with the bottle:

Despite the item hitting him with some force, the Tottenham man didn't seem too flustered. He quickly reminded the Arsenal supporters what the score was and posted the following on Twitter after the game:

"It is what it is," Alli told Sky Sports (h/t Alex Bysouth of BBC Sport). "It made the goal a bit sweeter and the win."

Bysouth added the Metropolitan Police is working with the Gunners to determine who threw the bottle.

Alli was a key performer for his team, setting up Heung-Min Son's opening goal with a fine pass in the first period. He then rounded off a rapid counter-attack with a dinked finish on the hour mark to seal his side's spot in the semis.

Spurs will play Chelsea over two legs for a place in the final. The winner will either meet holders Manchester City or third-tier side Burton Albion.

The moment was a blemish on another brilliant night for Alli. Football writer Daniel Storey put the England man's goalscoring into some context:

It was the second time in 17 days these two rivals had met. There was also an unsavoury incident in the clash on December 2, as a Tottenham fan tossed a banana skin in the direction of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the Arsenal forward had scored.

Averof Panteli has since been banned from attending matches for four years in relation to that incident after magistrates determined there was a racial element to his actions, per Simon Murphy of the Guardian.