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Tottenham Hotspur now have two reasons to thank Ange Postecoglou. Firstly, they obviously have to thank the Australian manager for bringing them their first major trophy in decades, winning the Europa League last season over fellow Premier League powerhouses Manchester United. But secondly, they have to thank Postecoglou for, albeit briefly, weakening Nottingham Forest.

Because now that Forest have fired Postecoglou and hired the notorious Sean Dyche to lead their merry men of underdogs, it's become patently obvious that Big Ange was a bit of a fraud of a manager and perhaps would have dragged Spurs to further depths in the Premier League than an already historically putrid 17th place finish.

Without Postecoglou managing them, Forest were highly impressive again on Saturday in the Premier League, defeating defending champions Liverpool by a scoreline of 3-0. Now, Liverpool haven't exactly been at their best lately and are now at risk of falling into the bottom half of the table, but when you look at how stacked their squad is, a 3-0 blowout is insanely impressive no matter how you spell it.

Tottenham fans still love Ange Postecoglou

Forest were pushing for the Champions League last season and were outright the worst team in the Premier League under Ange, and now they are back to dominating clubs. They have lost just one game in their last six.

Postecoglou will always be loved by Tottenham fans, and the irony is that his spectacularly failed tenure with Nottingham Forest is only more reason for the fans to love him since he weakened the team that screwed them out of Morgan Gibbs-White in the summer.

And speaking of Gibbs-White, he scored for Forest in the victory and looks so much better without Postecoglou holding back his production. That then makes you wonder how much more productive James Maddison could be under Thomas Frank, especially if big Dominic Solanke can get - and stay- healthy for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.

It's hard to speak ill of Postecoglou when he did so much to try and get Spurs to win and was ultimately successful in doing what Spurs had not been able to do for years and years. At the same time, realistically, he's not a great coach at the top level of the Premier League, and the best teams and managers in the game figured him out pretty quickly to what eventually led to embarrassing results that then continued at Forest.

Tottenham Hotspur have been hit harder than any other club in the Premier League with injuries this season, and even with Ange Postecoglou gone at the helm, his presence in this regard very much still lingers on the injury report.

Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, and James Maddison all came into the season with injuries, and even new signing Randal Kolo Muani arrived with a dead leg. Solanke aggravated his issue, while Destiny Udogie, Mohammed Kudus, Cristian Romero, Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray, and Lucas Bergvall have all been among those to join the holdovers on the injury report at various points this season.

But even the stars out on loan haven't been immune from the bad luck injury crisis that seemingly plagues Tottenham players on an annual basis. Over the November international break, gem wide playmaker Mikey Moore suffered an injury for the England youth international team.

Tottenham have to wait for more updates

Now, according to his own manager Danny Rohl at a press conference, via Sky Sports Scotland, Moore is among three players currently at risk of missing the entire remainder of the 2025/26 season for Rangers with an injury. The others are John Souttar and Derek Cornelius. Rohl said, It's always an honour to play for your own country... as a club manager you always want to protect your players."

Out with an unspecified muscular injury that requires further evaluation, it's anyone's guess as to when the uber talented Moore will be back. His injury comes at an especially terrible time, too, as Moore was breaking out again after a bad start to his loan spell in Scotland, with the appointment of Rohl unsurprisingly completely changing his fortunes.

Even though Moore isn't a current Tottenham first team player, he was last season and shined even on the international stage at the Europa League. Spurs loaned him to Rangers in the hopes that he would blossom into a focal player and star before returning to help solve the issue on the wings for the Tottenham first team.

So far, Moore has quietly taken steps in that direction, so a season ending injury for the 18 year old potential franchise player would be devastating for both Rangers and Spurs, pushing back his development potentially a full year further. Moore is one of those players Tottenham fans have to be glued to long term, and, therefore, any injury updates going forward on him are crucial to monitor.

When Tottenham Hotspur take on Premier League leaders and hated rivals Arsenal on Sunday in the North London Derby, the microscope will be fully placed on the Spurs No. 10 position with more focus than will be on any other player in this prestigious clash betwee England's two fiercest footballing rivals.

Simons wasn't actually Spurs first choice for the attacking midfield position in the aftermath of James Maddison's serious knee injury. Spurs were actually trying to sign FA Cup winning Crystal Palace star - and local London hero - Eberechi Eze first, but the England international's childhood affinity for Arsenal won out in the end. Arsenal signed Eze at the last second, just when everyone thought he had already agreed to a move to Tottenham.

So then Spurs signed Xavi Simons, who was previously strongly linked to their other big London rivals, Chelsea. But the Blues cooled off on Simons, and when Spurs signed the younger Simons for cheaper than what Arsenal paid for Eze, many fans thought that they had won the summer window's attacking midfield game of musical chairs.

A disappointment for Tottenham

Though Eze hasn't been amazing himself, Simons has been a real disappointment for Tottenham thus far. Clearly, it's not all on him, as it is pretty hard to make an imprint on the game when you are playing behind a woeful Richarlison and in front of the midfield double pivot of Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha, which Thomas Frank has rather foolishly chosen to stay married to.

But Simons clearly could be doing better. He is creating some chances, but he has just one assist and no goals in about eight appearances in the Premier League. Simons is not creating any sense of danger to the opposition, he's been less active on the ball with progression and dribbles, his defensive work is honestly lacking, and his overall goal threat and impact on the game are minimal.

Facing off against Arsenal and the very player, Eze, whom Spurs wanted first, Simons has to have his breakout performance. He was the most expensive signing of the summer for Tottenham, per Transfermarkt, and as a No. 10, Spurs are expecting much more production than one goal contribution in eight games.

No player has more to prove on either side than Simons this Sunday, and if he pulls in another dud of a game against this elite Arsenal defensive and midfield combination with Premier League Player of the Season candidates like Declan Rice on board, then more questions will be asked internationally about Simons and his fit with Spurs.

There is no fixture in the Premier League calendar more highly anticipated around the league than the North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, and with both teams currently in the top five of the table, there is no doubt that Sunday's game is going to be a hard fought encounter.

Heading into the matchup, here are three players on Tottenham who could have key roles to play for Spurs in Sunday's game, based on how Thomas Frank has utilized his players, but who could ultimately be major liabilities to a victory or draw.

ST Richarlison

It has to begin with Richarlison, who has been an abject disaster over the past several weeks, and while he did technically get on the score sheet against Manchester United before the November international break, every single Spurs fan who watched the game will tell you how putrid he was.

Richarlison clearly does not deserve to be starting for Spurs, but Thomas Frank has been handing him minutes anyway. Mathys Tel and a recovering Randal Kolo Muani are much better options against an elite Arsenal defense.

CM Rodrigo Bentancur

Likewise, Rodrigo Bentancur is another relatively big name and experienced Premier League (and Serie A) starter who has been getting starts from Frank more based on his reputation and veteran status rather than his play on the pitch. The Uruguayan international has not been as bad as Richarlison, but his positive games this season have been fewer than the negatives.

Furthermore, Spurs have better, younger midfielders who can offer more against Arsenal. Pape Matar Sarr is practicing and clear to play, and he's been considerably better in midfield and matches up with Arsenal more favorably than Bentancur, who will get totally overrun by Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice.

LW Wilson Odobert

Although Wilson Odobert is the best option Tottenham have on the left wing and changed the game against Manchester United, he is still too young and too raw to be considered a great matchup for Spurs against this vaunted Arsenal defense. Odobert is going to struggle out there with the physicality of the Gunners defense and could find himself on the periphery of the game.

Long term, Odobert is going to be a great player for Tottenham, but in the short term, the fact that he is so important to Tottenham right now is an indictment of this club failing to address the left wing position this summer.

Preparations are fully under way for the biggest matchup of the season so far for Tottenham Hotspur, as Thomas Frank and his crew will travel the short distance to the Emirates Stadium for the former Brenford manager's first North London Derby of his career against Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Although Tottenham head into the matchup hobbled by injuries, there is now hope that star striker Randal Kolo Muani can play without missing any games despite suffering a nasty jaw injury in the final Premier League fixture before the November international break, a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.

Lucas Bergvall will also be back in action for Tottenham after training with the rest of his teammates on Friday, as the star center midfielder was previously out again with a concussion. But despite these two positive injury news updates for Spurs, there is still one more very important player that Spurs cannot quite count on yet.

He doesn't sound far away

According to Thomas Frank himself in a message to the media on Friday ahead of Spurs ultimate fixture against Arsenal, via Lilywhite Rose, star striker Dominic Solanke is not ready to return to the club for this North London Derby, "Dom is not ready yet. We want to be absolutely sure when we put him out there, no setbacks."

Solanke only played the first couple of games of the 2025/26 season after a lingering injury last season, and then he quickly got injured again. The England international has been working his way back from a lingering ankle injury, which Spurs do not want to aggravate again and have him miss even more time.

So while Solanke was crucial to Spurs winning the Europa League last season and has an all around skill set that the attacking challenged Lilywhites have lacked badly, it makes no sense to rush him back now, especially on short notice for such a grueling opponent as Arsenal.

Spurs won't win or lose the North London Derby because of missing Solanke when they have already missed him for months. Kolo Muani should be ready as an option off the bench with his specially fitted mask, while Mathys Tel has shown against both Leeds and Manchester United that he has the quality to be the starting option over Richarlison when needed.

Frank and Spurs need to keep taking the cautious approach with Solanke, but the fact that he is being held out as more of a cautious effort is a good sign; it seems like Solanke may not be far away from a return either.

It will all be on the line for Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday at the Emirates Stadium when Thomas Frank plays out his first ever North London Derby against an Arsenal team that is first in the Premier League and truly looks capable of getting the gorilla of their back under MIkel Arteta by winning the league title.

Although Arsenal do come into this matchup with a rash of injuries, there is no question that Tottenham have, once again, been hit the hardest of any club on the injury front. Coming into this game, specifically, there were lingering questions about the statuses of Lucas Bergvall and Randal Kolo Muani, who are both important to Spurs success. There was also concern about the severity of Archie Gray's injury.

Well, Tottenham have been given a huge boost on the injury front in the training sessions on Friday before Sunday's matchup with Arsenal. Because according to the club's official web site, both striker Randal Kolo Muani and center midfielder Lucas Bergvall were able to practice for the team. Bergvall will be ready to play against Arsenal, while Kolo Muani is strongly in contention to play. And quietly, Archie Gray returned to practice as well, though he may not be able to play on Sunday.

Tottenham are on the verge of having their forward

The Swedish midfielder Bergvall had been out with a concussion, but he is now cleared to play. It remains to be seen if Thomas Frank will start him against Arsenal. It's more likely he will have a role to play off the bench, as either Pape Matar Sarr or Rodrigo Bentancur will likely draw the start alongside Joao Palhinha at the base of the Tottenham midfield. Gray almost certainly won't play, but the fact that he is training is huge news for Tottenham regardless.

Now the real key injury news is Kolo Muani. While he is not fully cleared to play, he was given a special fitting mask for his jaw injury, which occurred in the first half of a 2-2 draw with Manchester United on the Saturday Premier League matchup before the November international break began.

The first North London Derby of the 2025/26 season is upon us, as two injury-hit rivals collide at the Emirates.

Tottenham and Arsenal currently boast the poorest bills of health in the Premier League, but that shouldn't diminish the occasion this weekend. Thomas Frank, who oversaw a 1-0 victory over the Gunners in pre-season, is aiming to inspire Spurs' first league victory at Arsenal's home since 2010, while the hosts are searching for another statement triumph to further aid their title tilt.

Rarely is it a pleasant experience when we venture across to the cringier half of north London, with Tottenham sides, both good and sub-par, tending to wilt when they enter hostile territory.

But can Frank's group create a special memory this weekend? There are notable absences, sure, but the Dane has players at his disposal who are capable of inspiring a rare Emirates victory. Here are the three that need to step up most for the away side.

The skipper had a disrupted period before the November break through injury, returning off the bench against Chelsea, only to play a makeshift centre-forward role late on in a bid to inspire a gram of momentum.

Romero has been excellent at the start of the season, embracing his responsibility, but his performance in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United was arguably his worst for quite some time.

He's returned from international duty unscathed, and Spurs desperately need their captain to set the tone on Sunday. It feels like we haven't enjoyed Romero in a North London Derby for a while, but he's the man who's thrived on the big stage before and Arsenal, a potent unit, are bound to make us suffer for periods on home soil.

Frank needs Romero to stand tall if Spurs are to claim a positive result. No funny business, skipper.

Some remain skeptical over João Palhinha: the anti-passer.

I agree that there are times when the ball-winning Portuguese midfielder isn't required, but we're not playing Burnley at home this weekend. There are currently few tougher grounds to win at than the Emirates, and Frank is undoubtedly going to rely upon his midfield enforcer.

The extent of Spurs' success will be determined by their efficacy without possession, with Frank likely to adopt similar ploys from the UEFA Super Cup and Manchester City win. Palhinha was a standout in both games.

I expect a direct plan with the ball, thus avoiding the midfield trap, but the engine room will be key in disrupting the rhythm of Arsenal's build-up, as well as the influences of Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice. Palhinha's outstanding defensive attributes simply have to come to the fore if we're to tame and frustrate our opponents.

I like the idea of Pape Matar Sarr playing here, while Mohammed Kudus is the most likely to exploit a reshuffled Arsenal left-hand side. However, both are injury doubts heading into the derby, so I've picked Xavi as the third player who needs to step up on Sunday.

If Sarr isn't ready, the Dutchman, who scored for his country over the break, will surely earn a starting berth in the No. 10 role. Xavi doesn't boast Sarr's engine, but he's a scrappy playmaker who'll fight tooth and nail. His defensive effort has perhaps gone unnoticed at times because we've all expected him to light up N17 with his craft with the ball.

It's been a fairly tricky start to Premier League life, but the circumstances have so far been tough to thrive in. Spurs' attack is yet to click as a collective, and a combination of factors means Xavi has rarely been accessed in optimal zones.

Tottenham Hotspur star right winger Dejan Kulusevski has been one of the team's most important players since his arrival from Serie A, as the former Juventus and Parma star has proven to be key as both a winger and a box to box midfielder.

Kulusevski hasn't been able to play for Tottenham since the end of the 2024/25 season with a right knee injury in a Premier League match against local rivals Crystal Palace. In total, Kulu has missed the past five months, and Spurs have sorely missed his consistency and ball progression.

Tottenham fans haven't received a concrete injury update on Kulusevski in a while. He was initially expected to be back around the start of the 2025/26 season, then around the Fall, and, now, he's been without a time table until a recent injury update.

Manager gives latest Kulusevski injury news

It comes from Kulu's manager, just not Thomas Frank. Swedish national team manager Graham Potter, formerly of Chelsea and most recently West Ham in the Premier League, was the one to divulge the details and finally deliver an actual timeline for when Spurs (and Sweden) fans can expect Kulusevski back on the pitch.

Potter told reporters over the November international break, via The Spurs Express, “Dejan is taking steps forward. He was happy with where he is in his rehabilitation. It’s in Tottenham’s hands, and his, but he was feeling good when I last spoke to him and I look forward to seeing him maybe at Christmas or around New Year.”

Although Tottenham have found one of the best right wingers in the Premier League after signing Mohammed Kudus from rivals West Ham United in the summer 2025 transfer window, Kulusevski has still been missed. Kudus had to miss a couple of games with an injury, and whenever he has started, backup right winger Brennan Johnson has been a total disaster on that flank.

All eyes are on Sunday afternoon, as there is not a single Premier League fixture this weekend more highly anticipated than the North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, as it is easily the most passionate rivalry in the English top flight - and that may be the only thing fans of these two storied clubs can agree on.

Tottenham head into the match as significant underdogs with Arsenal ranked first in the Premier League and Spurs ranked fifth despite the analytics viewing them as major underdogs lucky to be even in the top half of the table at all.

Both clubs are hit hard by injuries coming into this game, and while that statement is still true for Arsenal, it almost seems comical in the face of the rampant injuries Spurs have been dealt to a squad that is also admittedly thinner.

Tottenham could get a real attacking boost

One of the most recent injuries was to Randal Kolo Muani, who was even feared to have a broken jaw after going off at half time of the final game before the November international break against Manchester United. While Kolo Muani, thankfully, didn't break his jaw, Spurs fans were still operating under the expectation that the new French forward would miss a few weeks.

However, a new report from the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law states that Kolo Muani could actually be able to return in time for the North London Derby against Arsenal this Sunday. There's a plan for him in place to wear a special mask to protect his jaw and facial structures from further injury, and he is being trained to wear this specially fitted mask in the hopes that he can be out there against the Gunners.

Although it remains to be seen if Kolo Muani can indeed play, the fact that this is a possibility is huge news for Spurs fans, who were quietly hoping for this exact development while mulling over all scenarios for the North London Derby during the quiet November international break.

Now, Kolo Muani is still unlikely to start even with this mask, and if he does play at all, he'd be a bench option for the young Mathys Tel, who has to have officially moved above Richarlison in the formal striker pecking order after a game changing appearance in the second half when Kolo Muani went down injured. But Kolo Muani can still have a real role to play as a substitute.

There is no position Tottenham Hotspur needs to upgrade more this winter transfer window than the left wing position, because it's been a huge void in the absence of legend Son Heung-min, who left for MLS in order to avoid a stronger decline in the Premier League, leaving on a high note.

Spurs have simply failed to replace his production at the position, and though they do have two very good young players in that spot between Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel, it's unfair for Spurs to ask them to carry that torch - at least not immediately.

But as the January transfer window approaches, there are less obvious upgrades that Spurs fans are talking about upgrading, and one of the more out of nowhere ones would be a new goalkeeper to supplant Guglielmo Vicario.

Tottenham may want an elite option

Although Vicario is a great goalkeeper and one of the best in the Premier League, some Spurs fans feel that he has a ceiling because of some of the basic positioning errors he makes that lead to back breaking goals. They are not overshadowed by the great plays he makes, but they do stick out in comparison to goalkeepers like David Raya, Alisson Becker, and Gianluigi Donnarumma at the main title contenders in England.

Per a recent report from the Daily Mail's Matt Barlow, Tottenham Hotspur could be looking for a new world-class goalkeeper this January to upgrade on Guglielmo Vicario. Barlow writes that while a new striker is the priority for Spurs this winter, Tottenham feel that because Vicario is so poor on set pieces and does not command his area like an Alisson or a Donnarumma, they are interested in finding someone else.

Well, honestly, good luck doing that in January. It is so, so hard to find a great goalkeeper signing in this month, and the only real time that's happened is with a veteran keeper on an expiring contract signed in a pinch for a small fee. That goalkeeper was Yann Sommer, who joined Bayern Munich for six months to help them win the league after Manuel Neuer's skiing accident.

Tottenham aren't going to find that kind of an opportunity this winter, unless if James Trafford really does push his way out of Manchester City to step out of the shadow of Donnarumma after a frustrating summer 2025 transfer. That's the player to watch, though, between Vicario and Antonin Kinsky, goalkeeper isn't yet a priority target for Spurs.