Tottenham endured a bruising night at the Emirates, humbled 4-1 by Arsenal in a derby that left players, staff and supporters reeling. Manager Thomas Frank and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario offered contrite apologies after a performance described as “painful” and lacking the fight expected in fixtures of this magnitude.
A night to forget
Arsenal’s clinical display produced a 4-1 scoreline that matched Tottenham’s joint-heaviest Premier League defeat to their neighbours. Eberechi Eze was the tormentor-in-chief, netting a hat-trick against the club he nearly joined in the summer, while Richarlison’s spectacular 40-yard strike was a rare bright spark for Spurs.
The visitors’ attacking output, however, was pitiful: an expected-goals (xG) figure of 0.07, the lowest in the top flight this season.
Frank faces the music
“It’s extremely painful — I won’t walk away from that,” Frank told Sky Sports, acknowledging the scale of the collapse as his side slipped to three defeats in five league outings. H
e apologised directly to the fans: “We can only apologise to the fans for that performance. It was a bad performance. I’ve seen a lot of character and fight in this team, but we didn’t win enough duels.”
Frank’s tactical gamble, switching to a back three to stifle the league leaders, backfired as Arsenal sliced through Spurs repeatedly. Leandro Trossard and Eze had the Gunners 2-0 up by half-time, and Eze struck again 35 seconds into the second half before completing his treble late on.
“I will always take responsibility for my choice,” Frank added, insisting the problem ran deeper than formation: a lack of duels and intensity at decisive moments made victory impossible.
Vicario’s stark admission
Vicario echoed his manager’s remorse, telling Sky Sports the team had failed the supporters.
“They expected us to fight and today we didn’t fight. That’s not negotiable at this level,” he said. He described Spurs as too passive, admitting the game plan did not survive the emotional heat of the derby and calling for cooler heads going forward.
Patterns of concern
This was not an isolated failure.
Tottenham’s struggles to threaten in the final third have been recurring: three attempts and an xG of 0.1 in the 1-0 home loss to Chelsea, and an xG of 0.17 in the 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth in August underline a worrying trend. Frank conceded the issue is ongoing and insisted the squad will try to block out the noise and focus on improvement ahead of a Champions League trip to Paris St-Germain.
Pundit verdict
Former Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy was scathing in his assessment, calling Arsenal’s display one of the most dominant derby performances he had seen. Murphy argued Tottenham’s five-at-the-back system can work — but only if wing-backs push higher and the team shows bravery on the ball.
Instead, Arsenal’s quality and physicality pinned Spurs back, leaving them unable to escape and, crucially, unable to hurt their opponents.
Murphy warned that the manner of the defeat will amplify discontent among supporters and that Frank will learn a lot about his squad in the coming weeks — who will stand up, who will show courage, and who will take the ball and make things happen.
What comes next
For Tottenham, the immediate task is recovery: to restore belief, sharpen intensity and find the courage that has been missing in recent big games. The derby defeat is a blunt reminder that talent alone will not suffice; without bite, organisation and urgency, Spurs risk more nights like this one.
