VAVEL.com

Thomas Frank outlined his expectations of the showdown with Sunderland this weekend.

The Black Cats have exceeded expectations this Premier League campaign, staying undefeated through the first half of the season on their home turf at the Stadium of Light. Away from home, they have defeated Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, and now the men of Regis Le Bris hope for another successful trip to the capital. It is a challenge that the Tottenham head coach does not underestimate.

Indeed, Spurs still have the 17th worst record at their ground in the league, and after a dreary draw against Brentford in midweek, Frank knows he and his players have to produce a livelier display.

“We need to do everything we can to put an attacking, intense, front-footed performance out against Sunderland in two days' time. I'll do everything I can to make sure we do that. If we do that and get three points, it’s seven from three, which would be a very good output. So that's the aim.

“By the way, against the Sunderland team that’s done unbelievably well. And I know for a fact, because, when I say attitude, I'm confident in my own skillset, but also very humble about who I am, where we are and what we need to do.

“I know what we're facing tomorrow against Sunderland, because I've been there myself.

“I think they’ve done fantastically, very, very impressive, the first season in the Premier League. And also, as you say, we're changing a lot of players. They're very clear what they want to do.

Thomas Frank acknowledged the frustration shown by Tottenham fans after his side was booed off following a toothless display against Brentford.

The Danish manager would have aimed to pick up all three points on his return to his old stomping ground, but by the end of the night, Frank could consider himself lucky to escape with a point.

The Bees were by far the more positive team, while Tottenham struggled, not for the first time this season, to create anything meaningful, drawing a chorus of boos from the away fans after the full-time whistle.

"Yeah, I think it seemed like they were not too satisfied, and it's fair when we don't hit that top performance overall," he said.

"But I think it's double-sided because I think what we need to understand is the acknowledgement of the defensive side of the game, which we've done excellent today against a team that just scored three against Liverpool, three against Man United, so on and so on, but of course the offensive part needs to be better. There's no two ways about that.

"Of course we need to play, it's not that we don't want to play offensive or attacking football. I just think when we're not, how can you say, on the top of the game we would like to be, we work very, very hard on that, but while you work hard on that you can't, if you struggle scoring goals, let's say that, or create enough chances, you can't open up too much because then you need to score too many goals. So, it's a fine balance."

The result means that Tottenham have won just one of their last five away games, picking up five out of a possible fifteen points.

The difference in the reception given to Frank by the home fans and away fans was also a stark reminder of how much work the Dane still has to do to win over the Spurs faithful.

When asked if the supporters needed to be more understanding of the club's situation, Frank said: "That question is very difficult for me to answer, going off a few boos after the game, and as I say, I'm not really reading anything on social media, or articles or all that. I watch the team. I'm very aware that we are not where I want us to be, very aware.

"Yeah of course, you'd prefer everyone is happy and we're winning 3-0. I think the understanding of where we are right now, as a team, and as a club. That's the transparent view of it. I think we have to play with Archie as a 10 - or I decided to do that - we did a little bit different at the end of the game. That's just step by step, we do those things. I'm very confident we will make it fluent and better and scoring enough goals, but with the amount of games and limited training times and the right offensive players available, that's part of it, it's no problem."

Tottenham Hotspur do not like playing Liverpool, having lost to the Merseyside giants 84 times since records began. Even in the rare periods where the team in white has been more successful, Liverpool more often than not get the upper hand. All but the most blindly optimistic Spurs supporter would have felt a defeat inevitable.

Even sidestepping who the away side were in the last fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in 2025: Spurs are a side that loses most matches at home these days, Liverpool needed a win with two huge summer signings stuttering (enter Dr. Tottenham), and the Spurs board have this week briefed a vote of confidence in Thomas Frank - often the death knell to a manager's custodianship at any club.

Here are four things we learnt during the latest defeat at home.

The crowd are not to blame

Thomas Frank has made a lot of headlines recently with defensive comments when questions have rightfully arisen about his ability to arrest Spurs' decline (which, in fairness, is more than half a decade in the making). He has made catty comments about the situation he inherited from his predecessor, diminished the achievement of last seasons' Europa League win, and far worse, pointed the finger at the home support.

Having spent nearly 4 decades sacrificing large parts of my free time in the West Stand of each home ground in N17, I know that when the Spurs supporters feel disenchanted, the atmosphere becomes stale, passive aggressive, or outright hostile. This has only been exacerbated by the rising ticket prices correlating negatively with the least enjoyable side seen in these parts since David Pleat was last at the helm.

However, on this occasion, the home crowd were positive. They backed the players and, having actually seen a few decent attacking moves for the first time in eons, were willing the side on even at 2-0 down. Perhaps the dreadful refereeing performance helped create a siege mentality, or perhaps those in attendance didn't want to give their manager or Pedro Porro anywhere to look but themselves, but even Thomas Frank admitted that in those final stages the crowd almost "sucked the ball into the net".

Alas, it wasn't to be, and Spurs recorded their 5th league defeat in 9 home matches this season, a game punctuated with more perplexingly negative substitutions, more inexcusable mistakes from apparently seasoned international footballers, and more faltering from highly celebrated summer signings.

Being frank, Thomas, it might be that how this crowd expresses itself is quite irrelevant to what level of performance you can inspire.

The Spurs players are frustrated

This is a very unhappy collection of footballers. The disdain shown towards their own crowd with the strange half-time walk offs, van de Ven's constant fury against Slavia Prague and his petulance towards Frank against Chelsea, and several public sightings of disrespect from Djed Spence (often when substituted). The same Tottenham players who were on top of the world last May are now visibly outside their collective window of tolerance.

Today, this manifested in two completely avoidable red cards. The first came when Spurs sadly looked like they might be the better team on the day, with Xavi Simons, so desperate to show he can make it in this league, charging at a turning Virgil van Dijk and catching his international captain's ankle with his studs.

The resultant red card was very much a slow motion red card, there really wasn't much impact or recklessness. In fact, the victim was completely unpunished for a far worse example of this on Dominic Solanke last season.

However, I do wonder if Xavi Simons, playing well and in a side that wasn't so desperate for some fortune, would have been quite so aggressive in his approach. To me this was characteristic of a young player trying too hard. Similar to the 18-year-old Gareth Bale being sent off against Stoke once upon a time for a similarly tempestuous act.

Cristian Romero, on the other hand, was idiotic. He had just won a free kick from which Spurs might have equalised had they had their best header of the ball on the pitch; he was on a yellow card for his complaints about Hugo Ekitike's shove for the second Liverpool goal; he was right in front of the referee.

Of course Cristian Romero, in this situation, is going to flick he leg out to kick the player that has just fouled him. If Simons' red card came from desperation, Romero's came from bone idle stupidity.

Both were the behaviour of players frustrated by a season where the Spurs crowd's reverence for this team has turned to anger, the football has gone from poor to pointless, and the side is spinning on a carousel of defeat after defeat.

There is a reason Romero plays for Spurs

If it seems like the Argentinian centre-back is getting especially bad treatment, it's only because he's one of the biggest disappointments. There are plenty of Spurs players who have, and are, performing worse this season, but none with the same level of expectation on them. Romero is the captain. He is supposedly the best player and he has been made the club's highest earner with his recent new contract.

It is only fair to expect that in a time of crisis, he would be the player to stand up and drag the rest with him. That is was great captains do. Romero doesn't have the excuse of youth any more and he has been at Spurs since 2021.

He has won a World Cup in that time and is in the peak years of his career. If he has rightfully received plaudits for his heroics away to Newcastle, he needs admonishment for matches like this where he gifts the opposition two goals.

Do not pass straight out to the opposition press, for a start. And then, if you feel hands in your back as a cross comes in, be stronger. Once the ball hits the back of the net, you might get the free kick but you might not.

Prioritising doing your job and reading the flight of the ball over gamesmanship should be obvious. I would be more forgiving if it wasn't for the similar recent horror show against PSG, or if the cherry on this performance wasn't the already discussed sending off.

Romero has some games where he seems top class, but he is not consistent and he is running out of time to become consistent. Therefore, it can be concluded that he is not top class, he is ok - often dreadful and occasionally magnificent. At this point if he has a season where it all comes together and cuts this sloppiness out, I'd be inclined to chalk it up to a purple patch, an anomaly, rather than the real Romero.

If he needs the team to be on form so he can look the part, then he's just not as good as his PR team would have us think, and that is why he plays for Spurs instead of one of the giant clubs of world football. I'm inclined to suggest that Spurs should cash in before the rest of world football catches on, but his recent contract signing might just be because he didn't have a better option available than staying in North London.

If this seems rash or reactive, I'd just point out at at this time last season, Spurs had conceded fewer goals than they have now (even with the reputedly defensively clueless Ange Postecoglou in charge) and that was with Cristian Romero having missed 5 matches. Only one of those 5 saw Spurs concede more than 1 goal: Liverpool at home.

Richarlison offers hope

It's well documented that Spurs do not create much by way of goal scoring opportunities these days. Even strikers of top pedigree would struggle in the current Spurs side, thanks to a combination of the Thomas Frank's tactics, and the Lilywhites' more consistently effective attackers being either out of form or injured. Enter Richarlison, a figure who divides the Spurs fan base.

At his worst, Richarlison seems clumsy, a poor decision maker and lacking in the physical attributes to really contribute. At his best, the Brazilian World Cup hopeful is a determined, opportunistic forward who works best on instinct. Inside 3 minutes on the pitch against Liverpool, this was the Richarlison we saw.

Spurs' number 9 immediately harassed and hassled the Liverpool defence and very quickly had halved the deficit, taking advantage of confusion in the penalty area, air-kicks and trips aplenty, to sweep home a loose ball. Not long later Richarlison may even have equalised after Brennan Johnson slid the ball through to him, but was undone by his own lack of pace and are rare moment of composure from the Liverpool centre backs.

Richarlison isn't polished, he isn't particularly consistent and when his confidence takes a hit, he looks out of place anywhere near a football pitch. However, when he plays consistently, when he has no option but to attack on the front foot because the situation commands it, he is Spurs most likely route to a goal, and his 7 goals this season in a side that gives it's forwards next to no service is proof of this.

What Richarlison needs is either a foil to help create the space he needs, or a team behind him that can get the ball into dangerous areas. That is not a slight on 'Richy', because this describes most but the very elite forwards in the game.

He is one of the few current Spurs players doing his job to a decent level, and the manager should be looking at how best to accommodate this with his selections elsewhere in the side. Goals win games after all.

Thomas Frank shared updates about the health of the Tottenham squad.

Spurs sealed a 2-0 win over Brentford on the weekend, and they turn their attention to Champions League midweek football against Slavia Prague. The side is still missing three senior figures in the attack, but the head coach will look to build on the offensive momentum of the victory over the Bees.

“Destiny Udogie, as I said after the [Brentford] game unfortunately picked up a hamstring injury at the end of the Newcastle United game, so he’s out until January. Brennan Johnson is touch and go.

“I liked the performance, as I said after the game, but we're also playing a lot of games, so there will be a bit of rotation. I think that's the right thing to do to make sure everyone is coming full of energy and freshness but also keeping a core.

“It's an internal matter [about Yves Bissouma] that we're dealing with at the moment, and when we have dealt with that, then I will have a comment on it.

“I will confirm when Dejan Kulusevski is available for the squad. It's part of the recovery. There’s a plan for everything.

“It's very early stages. It's still a long-term injury, so it's good to see [James Maddison] out there, but very early stages. There's no specific time frame. It'll be a long time before he's available.

“Of course, if I knew back then what I know now, it maybe would have changed the decision [to leave out Mathys Tel], no doubt about that. Of course, it's something we can have into consideration if you can change one player, when is the timing, when can the other player be back and all that.

“There was also a decision in terms of some of the other long-term injuries. When can they be back? You need players that are fit and available, so we have enough players to shoot with from the bench.”

Thomas Frank was pleased with the reaction he got from Tottenham despite the 5-3 defeat to PSG in the UEFA Champions League.

It was an eventful game in Paris, where Tottenham took the lead when Richarlison headed in from the goal line for his third goal in three games. Vitinha levelled with a stunning strike from outside the box which crashed in off the bar.

Randal Kolo Muani got his first goal in a Tottenham shirt before the European Champions turned it up a level.

Vitinha got his second to level it at 2-2 before Fabian Ruiz gave PSG the lead for the first time in the game.

Pacho fired home a fourth from a rebound off a corner before Kolo Muani gave Spurs a bit of hope with his second goal, but the Parisians killed the game off when Vitinha got his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

It was Spurs’ first Champions League defeat of this season and continued a poor run of form with one win in their last five games.

Despite the loss, Frank was happy with how his team performed in comparison to the North London Derby on Sunday.

“Pleased with the performance,” said Frank. “It was the reaction that I wanted from the players and from the team. We have been working very hard on that. The players, staff and I, to make sure we responded well, which is crucial after a bad performance.

“Today you saw more identity in the team that I want to create, more character, personality, aggressiveness, three things you need to have in a team, no matter how well you want to play, whatever formation and today we saw it which is what I am pleased with.

“Of course, it was up there where we could get something out of the game, whether that be a draw or a win, so that is frustrating to concede some goals.

“Strikers [Kolo Muani and Richarlison] scored two goals, the whole team performed well. Archie Gray looked very positive.

“We played against a decent team [in PSG].”

Frank later elaborated on Kolo Muani's performance, “Today you saw what we can hopefully expect, even two goals and an assist every game is probably too much, I would love to get that every game.

“As I said every time, he came in late and with no pre-season, not top-fit and had two set-backs, then also an issue with the jaw, which you also saw again today, so hopefully we can get more.

Thomas Frank was speaking to the media in Paris ahead of Spurs' UEFA Champions League Group Stage match at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, hoping to keep their terrific unbeaten run in this season's competition alive, but will know how big a test it'll be against Luis Enrique's European Champions.

Frank said, "One thing I'm 1000% sure of, I know how to build a team, I know how to build a club and we will do that.

“Along the way, we'll learn and the big thing is how we learn from the bad spells, because that's where we also can see that when we go 1-0 down, how do we react as a team? The best teams, they just continually move on.

“They still run hard, they still do the same thing. There's no doubt in that.The first four months, I learned a lot about the team.

“I learned a lot about the individual players and all that learning that needs to materialise to how we find the right formula with the right players on the pitch and also with some players coming back.

“Then we play every third day. That's the big challenge, but that's what I embrace."

The North London derby is always a must-win game; This year, even more so as Arsenal were in a position to reestablish their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s side certainly did just that as Eberechi Eze's hat trick saw the Gunners to a 4-1 victory over their bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, at the Emirates Stadium.

A well-rounded and complete display from the Red side of North London ensured Spurs were sent home with their tails between their legs. It was simply too Eze for Arsenal.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

David Raya – 6

The Arsenal stopper only faced 0.07 expected goals and three shots. But the strike he did concede was a freak of nature by Richarlison.

The Brazilian forward, often amongst the most despised opposition players on the pitch, saw the goalkeeper off his line and lobbed him with an audacious effort from just inside the Gunners’ half.

Other than that, it was a comfortable display from Raya.

Jurrien Timber – 8

Timber has been outstanding in the first third of the campaign, and against Tottenham, he was no different.

Marshalling the truthfully told, feeble Spurs left flank was no problem for the full-back, who even chipped in with an assist for Eze’s second goal.

William Saliba – 7

Arsenal’s defence were in for one of the more comfortable matches they will have this season, but that was not to be known by the Gunners contingent.

Saliba was often caught off guard by Gabriel’s absence last campaign, but alongside Piero Hincapie, he looked his usual best, mopping up the rare forays forward by Spurs.

Piero Hincapie – 7

On his first Premier League start, Hincapie was very impressive. There were questions about who would fill the void left by Arsenal’s defensive colossus, Gabriel, but the Ecuadorian quickly erased any pre-match concerns.

Riccardo Calafiori – 7

Calafiori put in another consistent performance, helping the Gunners to remain solid defensively. The Italian also galloped forward, helping Leandro Trossard to cut inside and provide an attacking threat.

Martin Zubimendi – 6

At times, Zubimendi was sloppy on the ball, but he remained solid, especially in the second half when he was called into action defensively as Spurs looked to repair the damage inflicted upon them.

Declan Rice – 8

As usual, Rice was brilliant. The duel-winning midfielder dominated his opponents and probably should have opened the scoring within the opening exchanges after he drilled an effort straight at Guglielmo Vicario.

Nevertheless, Rice keeps on proving why the Gunners forked out £105m on their prize midfielder.

Bukayo Saka – 7

Despite not featuring amongst the goals and assists, Saka was one of the Gunners’ most impressive players on the pitch.

Spurs fouled Saka four times, making him the most fouled player on the pitch. Arsenal’s starboy attracts the opponents' attention whilst the likes of Trossard silently inflict damage on them.

Eberechi Eze – 10

Eze became the first Arsenal player to score a North London derby goal since Alan Sunderland in 1978. Spurs were within hours of making him their star signing last summer, but the Gunners swooped in and brought him home. That action could be the difference between the Reds winning or losing the league title.

Leandro Trossard – 8

It looked like Trossard was on his way out of the club in the summer; Fenerbahce were perhaps the most interested side in the Belgian’s services, but a contract extension kept him in North London.

Again, that has proved an inspired decision. Trossard has been excellent as the season has developed, and a goal and assist in the derby has taken his Premier League contributions to six already.

Mikel Merino – 7

The Gunners were without a recognised centre forward once again. There were pre-match concerns about how Arsenal would overcome a Spurs five-at-the-back formation.

However, Merino proved to be an admirable stand-in for the injured forwards. A dinked pass over the capitulating Spurs line enabled Trossard to turn and finish. Having a natural midfielder as the number nine does have its benefits at times. This was one of them.

Substitutes

Noni Madueke – 7

Madueke returned from injury and looked dangerous from the off. His pace against a tiring and demoralised defence enabled Arsenal to get up the pitch and inflict more damage upon Spurs.

Cristhian Mosquera – N/A

Ethan Nwaneri – N/A

Arsenal claimed a dominant 4-1 victory over bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the latest edition of the North London Derby.

It was a glorious day for the Gunners, who have now extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to six points thanks to a hat-trick from Eberechi Eze.

Leandro Trossard was the man to give the home side the lead in the 36th minute before Eze doubled their advantage before the break.

The Englishman would have more of a say just 40 seconds into the second half when he took Arsenal's tally to three.

Richarlison struck from just past the halfway line to give fans the slightest shimmer of hope; but all hope was gone when Eze found the back of the net yet again to make it 4-1 and complete his hat-trick.

Story of the match:

Arsenal made their intentions known from the first whistle as the first bit of space they were allowed by Spurs was translated into a great chance for the Gunners.

Bukayo Saka worked the ball to Eberechi Eze, whose dinked ball was hit on the volley by Declan Rice, forcing a strong save out of Vicario just two minutes into the encounter.

As expected, the home side were looking much more dangerous of the two sides, passing better than their rivals, and progressing into much more threatening areas of the pitch.

But truth be told, other than the chance two minutes in, Vicario had very little to trouble him in the early stages of proceedings at the Emirates. Thomas Frank's game plan looked like it was simply to frustrate the home side, something in which they were executing to perfection so far.

Every chance they got to slow the game down, whether it be a throw-in or a free kick, they did just that. This certainly helped to stunt Arsenal's progress and take that edge out of the home crowd.

Saka came close to opening the scoring just past the half-hour mark as his free kick travelled through a lot of bodies before being met by the palm of Vicario, who once again kept this encounter level.

But Spurs' defence would be breached once more in the 36th minute, this time fatally, when Mikel Merino found the run of Leandro Trossard. The Belgian took a wonderful touch to bring the ball under his spell, before turning and squeezing the ball into the bottom corner.

If it was not already, Tottenham's defence was all out of sorts now as their lack of composure was punished yet again. Rice won the ball back in the centre of the park and fizzed a pass through to Eze.

The Englishman showed great feet to sneak his way past two markers before blazing an effort into the bottom left corner to double Arsenal's lead ahead of the interval.

There was a question as to whether Vicario's sight of the shot was blocked by players in offside positions, but VAR confirmed the goal as Spurs now had a very steep mountain to climb.

It had been a miserable half from Spurs, who failed to register a single shot. The game plan fell apart as soon as the opening goal went in, as it looked like Frank's side lacked a plan B.

Arsenal, meanwhile, would have been thrilled as they had the encounter seemingly all but wrapped up prior to the interval. Still, Arteta would be looking for his team to hammer this result home emphatically in the second half

There was a change to both personnel and seemingly formation ahead of the half by Spurs as Xavi Simons entered play as the visitors looked to find a way back into the game.

The evening only became more disastrous for Spurs as it took Arsenal less than a minute to extend their advantage once more, as Eze continued to pile the misery on a team he looked set to join in the summer.

Jurrien Timber found a player in red on his second attempt as the 27-year-old took a touch and buried his effort in the back of the net yet again. This was quickly becoming humiliating for the visitors.

It all looked so pedestrian for Arsenal until a spanner was thrown into the works in the 55th minute.

Joao Palhinha did well to win the ball back in midfield before Richarlison picked up the ball and launched an outrageous effort from just past the halfway line that looped over a backtracking David Raya and into the back of the net.

It was totally against the run of play as the visitors seemed out of the game, but this sparked a glimmer of light into Thomas Frank's men.

Whilst this did inspire a more encouraging portion of play from the visiting side, they were not rewarded for the couple of bright moments that they generated.

Instead, quite the opposite as Arsenal restored their lead with 15 minutes to go as Eze became the first player to score a hat-trick in the North London Derby since 1978.

Trossard did brilliantly to drag the back line out of position before finding Eze in the middle, whose effort flew past a hopeless Vicario to seal this game once and for all.

There would be no response from Spurs, whose remaining energy had now diminished as they had been beaten, and beaten well, at the Emirates. They prepare for another tough test in midweek as they face the Champions of Europe, Paris Saint-Germain.

On the other hand, it was another impressive performance from Arsenal, who are looking more and more like champion material as weeks go by. They will now prepare for a midweek clash against Bayern Munich before returning to Premier League action against 2nd place Chelsea next weekend.

Player of the match:

Eberechi Eze:

Arsenal had plenty of players worthy of being named player of the match, particularly Trossard, but it could not really be anyone other than Eze, who has already etched his name into the club's folklore.

It was an impressive hat-trick from Eze, the second goal being the best of the bunch as he eased past two men before finding the finish. Every goal was as valuable as the other for Arsenal, who, thanks to Eze, now sit six points clear at the top of the table.

It was really a night to be proud of for Eze, who had put in a statement performance against a side that he came so close to joining in the summer.

Declan Rice remains confident in the Arsenal camp ahead of the North London derby.

The midfielder has been hitting his stride as the Gunners evolve with a midfield unit that includes £55 million man Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. The Englishman has excelled as a ‘do-it-all’ figure between both boxes, and he is a big part of why the team are sitting at the top of the table.

They can create a bigger buffer from the competition with a victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. The squad will be without Gabriel Magalhaes due to a thigh injury, and club captain Martin Odegaard might be absent. However, Rice still feels there is enough leadership to engineer a victory.

“I’m feeling probably as good as I’ve ever felt in my game to be honest with you. It probably took me two or three games to get going at the start of the season, but once I’ve fully clicked into gear, I feel like now I’m performing at a really high, consistent level.

“That’s what I want to keep doing, week-in, week-out, keep playing at a really high level, keep trying to be the best player and help the team achieve good things; that’s what I want to do.”

“We’re in a great position ourselves and if we keep winning football matches then good things are going to happen. I feel like our group has got such a good mentality even though we’re a young group, we’re really focused and really calm, I don’t see anyone panicking, or anyone worrying about what anyone else thinks.

“We’re just focused on ourselves and what our manager wants us to do, so I feel like that’s what we’re going to keep doing and we’ve started off really well doing that this season, so it’s been good so far.

“Martin’s our main captain, he’s incredible, but there’s also a group behind the scenes that help Martin out whenever he needs it. On matchdays, they have their own opinions and say things when they need to be said and I feel like that’s where we’re growing as a group now.

“If things need to be said, they get said, and in a constructive way, in a way that helps push other people. I feel like we do have more leaders now in the group than we’ve ever had, so that’s a really good thing for us.

“It means everything. I’ve been involved in four north London derbies so far and we’ve done well in them, but every time we know there’s one coming up, the fans are ready for it and we’re ready for it.

“It’s a different type of energy compared to any other game. It’s an energy where you know you have to go out there and give it everything; every tackle is going to be cheered, every header, every action.

“It’s the biggest fixture of the season for us in terms of what it means, the bragging rights, so to beat Spurs is always nice. We’ve had a good record against them the last few years, even though the games have been tough, we’ve won the football matches and that’s what we want to do again this weekend.”

Tottenham are changing lanes with a new head coach in charge of the club.

Ange Postecoglou finished in 17th place last season in the Premier League, and a Europa League title, ending a 17 year trophy drought, was not enough to keep the Australian in his job. The board looked across the capital, plucking Thomas Frank from Brentford in June to oversee the side.

They are reaping the rewards of the decision as Spurs sit fifth in the table, are unbeaten away from home in the league, and have quickly embraced a new identity. But could that come at a cost?

Set-piece precision

Set-pieces are back in fashion, and Spurs are leading the way with the focus on their offensive value.

Frank has been a longtime advocate of maximising this phase of play. His Brentford team jumped from the Championship with the knowledge that they needed to make marginal gains to get a competitive edge on more talented opposition, and he looked to make the most of these situations.

It is a belief that has followed him into his role. Spurs scored 11 goals from set plays last season, and by the end of October, they had netted five— harnessing the qualities of existing players in the camp.

Pedro Porro is a player whose vision and range of passing have been a pillar in more than just open play. From corners and free kicks, he has the right deliveries to put the ball into dangerous situations.

Kevin Danso, a loanee from Lens at the start of 2025, was the winner of a throw-in competition in the team’s preseason camp. From the performance in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, his ability to hurl the ball into the box has been another significant weapon that Spurs have utilised.

The controlled aggression of Cristian Romero has stood out in this side, especially as a force for good in the last two seasons. He has gone from strength to strength, but there has also been bigger influence from Micky van de Ven in the boxes. The Dutch defender bagged a brace in a 3-0 victory over Everton in October with two goals from corners, and he has scored six times this campaign.

To many fans, this success feels like a world away from the approach of Frank’s predecessor. But Postecoglou brought strengths in many other areas where the Dane still has to show he has answers.

Building from the back

But set pieces cannot solve all of the challenges that Tottenham face. Postecoglou proved that relentless positivity in possession could produce problems for opponents— even if it came at the cost of some defensive stability. By contrast, Frank has emphasised a strategy of finding firm foundations.

The head coach is working without Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, or James Maddison, who have all been absent with injuries. Former club captain Son Heung-min also parted ways with the club after a decade of service, so Frank has felt it is not sensible to place his trust in unsettled pieces.

But some of his decisions also demonstrate that the focus of Frank’s side is shifting offensively. Yves Bissouma, a key player in the first phase for Ange with his ability to progress play centrally, has not featured for the Dane. Brennan Johnson, a brilliant back post box crasher, has also dropped down the depth chart as Spurs no longer create the flow of chances to capitalise on the strength of the winger.

The balance of the midfield has also highlighted how Frank’s focus differs from his predecessor.

Joao Palhinha arrived in the summer as a loanee from Bayern Munich with Premier League experience from his two years at Fulham. Frank was impressed with his work across the capital while at Brentford, and his tough tackling, professional attitude is a valuable asset in this department.

However, Palhinha is not a player who thrives under pressure in central areas. With the strengths of Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall both being more forward thinking, and Rodrigo Bentancur looking for the right rhythm to influence games, Spurs have often struggled to click with the ball.

More recently, since the 3-0 defeat of Everton at the end of October, Frank has shuffled the pack. He has used a 3 + 2 buildup structure that seems to have better platformed Bentancur and given Djed Spence less responsibility to find progressive angles on his ‘wrong’ side as a right footed left back.

But there are still a lot of questions about the sustainability and effectiveness of their ideas on the ball.

Playing percentages

All teams will suffer from the absences of key individuals in their starting eleven, but it has felt like Tottenham are particularly short of ideas when a few key relationships are not present on the pitch.

Cristian Romero remains the spiritual leader of the side, and his progressive passing reflects the kind of bravery that Spurs seem to only demonstrate in fits and spurts to try and access more central areas.

Destiny Udogie is also a key figure: an athletic, ‘natural footed’ fullback, he has found chemistry with Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons. That left sided pod played a prominent part in displays against Brighton, Leeds United, and Copenhagen: three of the most impressive performances this season.

However, the Italian has struggled with knee injuries, and his availability is part of the problem that underlies the struggles of the new £51 million man from RB Leipzig. Maddison appears the more complete player, but it is all the more reason to give Xavi help as he transitions from the Bundesliga.

More often than not, the bailout has been the right sided pair for Tottenham as Frank takes positives from playing percentages, throwing crosses into the box, and asserting physicality on opponents.

Time and again, Spurs have relied on the out ball from Porro to Mohammed Kudus, whose 1 v 1 threat, carrying, and dominant physique have produced something out of nothing for the team.