The pressure is mounting on Thomas Frank after Tottenham Hotspur suffered a painful 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. It was a miserable performance which prompted Frank and Guglielmo Vicario to apologise to the fans for a lack of “fight”.
The fact that Spurs’ chief tormentor was Eberechi Eze, the player they came close to signing in the summer, only for him to rejoin his boyhood club, just made the result sting that little bit more.
Spurs are somehow only three points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, but they have taken four points from their last five league games. Here, The Athletic breaks down what is going wrong.
Defensive setup
How do you concede four goals after starting with a back five?
Frank’s formation was designed to frustrate Arsenal, and it is the latest version of a tactic he used successfully during his time with Brentford, recording memorable victories over Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. It is a riskier system to deploy when you are in charge of Spurs because the fans demand entertaining, attacking football.
This pragmatic approach worked for Spurs against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup and in August’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City. Crucially, they took the lead in both of those games, but their masterplan was ruined against Arsenal when Leandro Trossard scored first.
“We tried to come here and be aggressive and press high and in spells go after them,” Frank said in his post-match press conference. “We didn’t succeed with that. We didn’t manage to get near enough to them in the situations we could. It means we got pushed back and got a little too passive.”
Frank was asked multiple times if the system was to blame, but he rejected that theory.
“I’ve seen lots of teams, including my own team, playing also 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, being very aggressive, positive, forward-thinking,” he said. “That was not the case today. So I don’t think it’s about the system.”
It is hard to agree with Frank, though, because it felt like the formation encouraged Arsenal to take the initiative. Even allowing for Arsenal’s form this season, he showed them far too much respect.
Lack of invention
Frank is trying to make Spurs defensively solid before he turns them into a slick, possession-dominant side, but this was the third league game in a row where they struggled up front. They were awful against Chelsea, while the dramatic climax to their 2-2 draw with Manchester United made a lot of people forget about their struggles in the first 83 minutes.
Did Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur need to play ahead of three centre-backs? If so, how were Spurs supposed to progress the ball in central areas? Arsenal were missing their captain, Martin Odegaard, first-choice striker Viktor Gyokeres, and defensive leader Gabriel. Piero Hincapie was making his first start in the Premier League after joining on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, but Spurs did not test him at all.
They registered a ghastly xG (expected goals), which measures the quality of the chances they create, of 0.05 in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. They managed to increase that figure to 0.07 against the league leaders. They are the two lowest xG totals any team has registered in the top flight this season.
Spurs had no shots at all in the first half. By full time, Arsenal’s tally of four goals matched Spurs’ touches in the box. Richarlison’s spectacular lob made the scoreline less embarrassing, but it was a freak occurrence that capitalised on mistakes from Declan Rice and David Raya. Spurs should be competing with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal at the top of the table instead of rolling over against them.
Frank abandoned his 5-4-1 formation at half-time by bringing on Xavi Simons for Kevin Danso, but less than a minute later, Eze scored again. Simons did look dangerous and there were a couple of occasions where he powerfully drove forward, including one occasion where he earned Declan Rice a booking.
Simons has been inconsistent since he joined Spurs from RB Leipzig in August, which is understandable as he adapts to a new competition. The Netherlands international needs to be trusted because he offers that spark of magic this team needs and draws defenders towards him to create space for others.
Injuries
The absence of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke is hurting.
Solanke is an intelligent striker who is capable of dropping deep to link up play or sprint in behind opposition defences. Maddison and Kulusevski are both exceptional dribblers who possess an impressive passing range. Maddison will probably miss the entire season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but there is hope that Solanke and Kulusevski could return soon. They are experienced players who would instantly offer more quality in attack.
There is too much pressure on Mohammed Kudus to create chances at the moment. Wilson Odobert is showing flashes of potential, but his first season in north London was wrecked by hamstring surgery, and he is still finding his feet at this level.
Is it fair to judge Frank when so many of his key players are unavailable?
Squad building
Spurs prioritised signing players with Premier League experience in the transfer window, but ended up with Xavi Simons after failing to sign Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White.
In Frank’s defence, it is not his fault that Spurs’ then chairman Daniel Levy lacked any urgency in his negotiations with Crystal Palace’s Steve Parish. They signed Mathys Tel on a permanent basis after an underwhelming six-month loan spell, and he was then left out of their Champions League squad. Kota Takai has not played a single minute due to a foot injury.
After finishing 17th under Ange Postecoglou but qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League, Spurs needed quality reinforcements. Simons should flourish with more game time, but it feels like spending €35m (£30.8m) on Tel was a bad decision. Randal Kolo Muani’s loan spell has been disrupted by a dead leg and a fractured jaw.
Frank deserves criticism for this team’s underwhelming performances, but Levy, chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, and co-sporting directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici should face questions about whether they equipped Frank with a good enough squad.
October and November were always going to be challenging with fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa. After Spurs face PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday, their next four league games are Fulham, Newcastle United, Brentford and Nottingham Forest.
They should offer Frank an opportunity to regain some momentum. If they do not, even more pointed questions will be asked.