Tim Sherwood believes Danny Rose has “big enough shoulders” to move on from his mistake which gifted Arsenal a second goal in his side’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat at Emirates Stadium.

The full back dithered on the ball as the last man back and was robbed by Thomas Rosicky who went through on goal and dinked Hugo Lloris on 62 minutes when Spurs looked like they might grab a leveller in the third round tie.

Asked what he said to the young defender after the games, Spurs head coach said: “Nothing. Danny’s a good lad and he doesn’t shirk any responsibility and I would never berate anyone for making a mistake. It’s obviously a mistake by Danny but it’s on to the next one and he’s got the character, he’s got big enough shoulders and I’m sure he’ll be ready to play on Saturday.”

Theo Walcott sparked controversy when he made a '2-0' gesture with his hands in front of the Tottenham crowd as he was stretchered off in front of the away supporters towards the end of the match.

Coins and missiles rained down on the Arsenal forward but Sherwood said he did not see the incident, commenting: "If they (Spurs fans) did (throw missiles), then it's a problem, if they didn't then it's not." 

Tottenham went behind thanks to a Santi Cazorla strike on 32 minutes but began to put pressure on Arsenal in the second half before the Gunners’ breakaway second.

Sherwood said: “We’re disappointed obviously with the result. Our performance was better in the second half. We kept possession a lot better without opening Arsenal up too many times. We had a few half chances which, had we have taken them, it could have been a different story but as a whole, we have come to a team that are top of the league for a reason, because they’re very good.

“I don’t think we disgraced ourselves. I think we belong on the same pitch and in the same company as the likes of Arsenal and we just have to take this out of our minds and get on with the league.”

Spurs now face Crystal Palace at home next weekend as they look to push on and challenge for an evasive fourth league spot.

Sherwood said: “We have a respite now so we can get on the training pitch and show the boys a little bit more what we demand of them but it’s been six games in 17 days with probably the smallest squad in the league at the moment with the number of injuries we’ve had, so they’ve all had to get at it and they’ve shown great character and I’m proud of them.”