ESPN

Arsenal enter the latest edition of the North London Derby with their Premier League lead under threat, as Tottenham Hotspur aim to dent their rivals' title hopes under new boss Igor Tudor.

Mikel Arteta's side threw away a two-goal lead as Wolverhampton Wanderers fought back to draw 2-2 in their midweek game, leaving Manchester City facing a gap of two points should they win their game against Newcastle United. Tottenham, meanwhile, have had an extended break with Thomas Frank sacked after their 2-1 loss to Newcastle at home.

An away game against a rival squad motivated to perform under their new manager may be the last thing Arteta's side would want, but a derby victory could spur their stuttering campaign back to life.

Here's everything you need to know about Sunday's game.

How to watch:

The match will be shown on Sunday on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK, NBC/Peacock in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.

Key Details:

Kick-off time: Sunday, Feb. 22 at 4:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. ET; 10 p.m. IST and 2:30 a.m. AEST, Monday).

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.

Referee: Peter Bankes

VAR: Darren England

Injury and Team News:

Tottenham Hotspur

Cristian Romero, D: OUT, suspended

Dejan Kulusevski, M: OUT, knee, est. return late February

Destiny Udogie, D: OUT, muscle, est. return late February

Ben Davies, D: OUT, ankle, est. return mid April

Kevin Danso, D: OUT, toe, est. return late February

Wilson Odobert, F: OUT, ACL, est. return early July

Pedro Porro, D, DOUBT, hamstring

James Maddison, M: OUT, ACL, est. return early May

Lucas Bergvall: M: OUT, leg, est. return late April

Rodrigo Bentancur, M: OUT, hamstring, est. return mid April

Mohammed Kudus, F: OUT, muscle, est. return mid April

Richarlison, F: DOUBT, hamstring

Arsenal:

Max Dowman, M: OUT, ankle est. return late February

Mikel Merino, M: OUT, foot, est. return late May

Martin Ødegaard, M: DOUBT, knock

Kai Havertz, F: DOUBT, muscle

Bukayo Saka, M: DOUBT, muscle

Talking Points:

Is the wobble on?

After 27 games, Arsenal's predilection for 'bottling' a title race has come to the fore. Arteta's side were in cruise control against Wolves with a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute, but let their opponents back into the game and were made to pay with an injury time equaliser. What would have been an effective four-point lead over Man City is now two points, and with a game at the Etihad to come, Pep Guardiola's side have renewed hope.

Fifty-eight points at this stage of the season is the lowest a Premier League leader has had since Leicester City's 2015-16 campaign -- which means there will be further twists in the title race. City have found their winning formula recently, but the Premier League remains as unpredictable as ever.

Even a side with as poor form as Tottenham can genuinely hope to get one over their rivals, and a victory in the derby would be all the sweeter if they make Arsenal's title wobble into a full-blown collapse.

New manager, new formation bounce for Spurs?

Tudor will have five days of preparation with players that will be a week fresher than Arsenal's come kickoff. The Croatian has no experience of the Premier League, but has a reputation of being a quick-fix boss who can rescue a season... before things eventually go awry the next year or later.

Tudor isn't about to let his players get away with any excuses though, saying: "I'm coming here knowing that situation is not easy. There is no time to find excuses. What I said from the first day here, each of us, need to give something something more, something extra."

The former Juventus boss is known for playing a three-man defence with a fierce press, which is a far cry away from his predecessor's style. However, the likes of Micky van de Ven as a marauding centre-back and Xavi Simons, who leads the league in final-third turnovers, might be well suited to Tudor's demands.

Tudor's style could serve as fodder for the derby atmosphere, which could catch out a nervy Arsenal side. Spurs may be in a relegation battle, but they might have a huge say in the title race.

Saka or Eze through the middle?

Ironically, one of the few times Frank used a three-man defence was in the first half of the derby at the Emirates earlier this season, which saw Eberechi Eze thrive en route to scoring a memorable hat-trick. The Englishman has been largely anonymous since, but showed glimpses of his creative self with a superb pair of assists as Arsenal defeated Wigan in the FA Cup.

His reward was to be dropped back to the bench against Wolves, and be brought on to defend a one-goal lead (unsuccessfully) for 25 minutes. Eze's stop-start campaign has meant he's failed to reach the heights he did for Crystal Palace last season, but Tottenham represent the perfect opportunity for the childhood Arsenal fan.

Arteta has experimented with Bukayo Saka in the No. 10 role in the absence of Martin Ødegaard, but with both players remaining injury doubts for this game, it might be time for Eze to shine. The midfielder has scored six in his last four games against Spurs, so he ought to be at the forefront of Arsenal's efforts in north London on Sunday.

Can Tudor deal with Spurs' injuries, suspensions

That Tottenham have the league's worst injury list is well-known, with up to 12 players unavailable for the North London Derby. Yet, it's also which 12 players that are missing that ought to give Tudor a worry. Spurs are without two of their best creative players in James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, with Mohammed Kudus also out for a majority of the season.

Tudor won't be afforded the leeway that a new manager has in a fresh start to the squad -- his lineup against Arsenal will effectively be restricted to those that are available, with very little room for tweaking Frank's previous lineups.

However, Tudor has won his first game in charge in the last five clubs he's taken over (all midway through the season), and he certainly knows how to get up to speed quick.

Will form, history count for anything?

Form and previous history generally go out the window for a derby, a fact which Tudor will be keen to reiterate to his new set of charges. Just as well, since Arsenal have won all three of their previous visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Spurs have avoided defeat in only one of the last seven derbies.

Should Spurs lose this game, they will have a couple of unwanted records -- the worst losing run in the league (5) against Arsenal since 1989, while the last time Tottenham lost four home derbies in a row was in 1955.

Yet, Arteta's team have failed to win from winning positions in three of their last five games, with their formerly miserly defence now having conceded eight goals cumulatively in four of their last eight games. It may be top vs. 16th in the table, but Tottenham vs Arsenal remains as unpredicatable as ever.

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou has described the managerial position at Manchester United as "the hardest job in world football."

Postecoglou, who was sacked by Forest in October, discussed the United role while speaking on The Overlap podcast.

Michael Carrick was hired by the club in January, following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim, and has taken United to fourth in the Premier League.

"That is the hardest job in world football as far as I'm concerned, because the scrutiny that the club has and the spotlight it's under consistently," Postecoglou said.

"It's going to take a unique individual to be able to overcome all those things or a real discipline to say that we're going to say we are going to go down this path for a certain number of years."

Amorim was relieved of his duties in Manchester after 14 months, after they finished a lowly 15th in the Premier League in 2024-25 -- and lost in the Europa League final to Postecoglou and his then-side Spurs.

The former Forest boss then alluded to the personality aspect of the job, and said being in charge at United is more than just wins and losses.

"It is unlikely there is going to be a quick fix. It is going to take a person as much a manager who can handle the 100 press conferences every year and winning 10 games and losing one and being torn apart for losing that one," he said.

- Ange Postecoglou: Forest job came 'too soon' after Tottenham

- Dawson: The inside story of why Man United sacked Ruben Amorim

- Ogden: Carrick's calm among the chaos is exactly what Man United need

"History being a constant companion to everything you do. It has to be a person who accepts all that and be strong enough as an individual to say I will do it, but I will do it my way."

United have not confirmed the status of Carrick's long-term future as of yet, with the Englishman currently on a deal that sees him in charge until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Ange Postecoglou has admitted he regrets taking the head coach role at Nottingham Forest this season, believing it was "too soon" after he left Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou was sacked by Spurs last summer despite breaking the club's 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League trophy just weeks prior.

He then suffered the same fate, but this time at the hands of owner Evangelos Marinakis at Forest, where he was let go after a 39-day winless spell earlier this season.

And speaking on The Overlap podcast, Postecoglou opened up on the decision to take the job at the City Ground, and how it came at the wrong time.

"The whole Forest situation was on me. It was, I think, a case of being careful what you wish for," Postecoglou said.

"It was a bad decision by me to go in there, and I've got to take ownership of that. There's no point blaming timing or circumstances -- I should never have gone in. It was too soon after Tottenham.

"I went in at a time when they were used to doing things a certain way, and although I was always going to do things differently, I've got to cop that. It was my mistake. It's no one else's fault.

"It was the first time I hadn't worked in 20-odd years, and I was lost. In the off-season, you're normally busy -- transfers, preseason, your mind is always ticking over. This time I wasn't, and I felt lost."

Forest have since appointed two new managers, with Vitor Pereira succeeding Sean Dyche to become the club's fourth permanent manager of the season, a Premier League record.

Amid the managerial merry-go-round Forest find themselves just three points above the drop zone, a significant underperformance compared to the quality of the squad, with Postecoglou speaking about the uncertainty he walked into.

"Usually when you go into a club, they want change. But the reality is, I don't think they really wanted what I had to offer," he said.

"I don't even think they wanted to interview me. Something must have happened behind the scenes, because after the previous season, there was no way they would normally have come for me.

"So you're not walking into a normal environment where everyone wants change. I saw a group of players and thought, I can turn this around quickly. But strategically, it was never really going to work.

"By the time we started playing competitive games, we never got traction. It's no wonder the supporters never connected with me. Even the players were a bit distant."

- Postecoglou says Tottenham 'not a big club,' names four stars he tried to sign

- Frank sacking 'fair' but uncertainty surrounds Spurs - Ange Postecoglou

- Forest's 4th boss of season, Vitor Pereira, has 'trust' in owner Marinakis

Postecoglou was eventually sacked by Forest just 19 minutes after a fourth successive loss against Chelsea, and believes he should have had more "extensive discussions" before taking the job.

"In the end, I have to take ownership. I made a decision based on not working and seeing a group of players I thought I could improve. That blinded me to the reality -- it was never going to work long-term," Postecoglou added.

"Even if I'd won a few games, it wouldn't have lasted.

"And the owner [Marinakis] just wants to win -- however that happens. You can say what you want about him, but they probably wouldn't even be in the Premier League without him. But he wants results immediately.

"But every manager needs to go through a sticky patch. That's how you learn about people -- players, staff, fans. You need to live through it. At Spurs, we did that. We went through the tough period and got the reward. I had those players in the palm of my hand after that.

"Looking back, I don't know what I was thinking. I should've had more extensive discussions before taking the job. But I've always been the type to say: Get me in there and I'll show you."

Nedum Onuoha played 14 seasons in the Premier League with Manchester City, Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers before finishing his career with MLS side Real Salt Lake. He joined ESPN in 2020, appearing on ESPN FC, and has since featured as ESPN's lead studio pundit in England. His columns offer his perspective as a former player on the big issues of the day.

When your team changes a manager in midseason, as a player, it feels like a hostile introduction. You are thrown into what feels like a mini-preseason and must quickly prove yourself in a really uncertain environment. For those Tottenham Hotspur players who have seen Thomas Frank fired and replaced by Igor Tudor, there is the additional issue of knowing virtually nothing about the guy tasked with steadying the ship because he has no Premier League experience either as a player or as a coach.

- Spurs job too big for Frank, but changing manager won't fix mess at club

- Forest on 4th manager of season. Do multiple hires and fires ever work?

- How Premier League clubs are looking to the U.S. to raise transfers funds

The football community in England is big, but it also can feel quite small the longer you're involved. Players have connections -- friends, former teammates and coaches -- all over the place. A few Spurs players -- Rodrigo Bentancur, Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski -- crossed paths with Tudor when he was part of Andrea Pirlo's coaching staff at Juventus, so other members of the squad will be asking them what he's like, but also contacting other people they know who have worked with the Croatian to learn more about him.

I can imagine that England under-21 international Lloyd Kelly, who played for AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United before signing for Juventus last year, will have had calls and messages from Spurs players desperate for information on Tudor, his head coach at Juve for seven months last year.

Tudor was a surprise appointment, and many Spurs players will have had zero knowledge of him as a person or as a coach. But before he took his first session, they will have asked enough people about what he's like in terms of managing players, his training styles and how he wants players to play, to form a basic picture of his approach to the game.

Whether they are happy with the appointment or not, the Spurs players will still want to start off on the right footing under the new coach, even though he will only be in charge for 12 Premier League games and however long Spurs survive in the UEFA Champions League.

The players may quickly make their judgements about the new coach, but they will also want to finish the season in a better shape than they are now -- none of them will want to be part of the first Spurs team to be relegated in almost 50 years -- because individual pride is important. And, for many of them, there is the issue of ensuring they go to the FIFA World Cup with their respective countries.

Sunday's game against Arsenal -- Tudor's first in charge -- will mean everything to the players because they don't want to reach breaking point with the fans. That is something that could happen if they were to lose badly against their biggest rivals on home turf.

And if it starts badly, some players will just check out. I've seen it first-hand when a player tells a coach that he will outlast him at a club. When that happens, you know things are turning in a negative way.

The Spurs players will have known change was coming, though. Looking back on my experiences, it's very rare to be surprised by a managerial change. Managers are human beings, after all. It's very hard for them to keep doing the same job, pretending that nothing is happening when they are facing the sack.

As things get worse, you start to see almost a sense of resentment toward outcomes, players and things they weren't previously stressed about. You can also tell when they've lost a group. Sometimes that could be due not necessarily to results, but a change you can see in their own principles that they once tried to tell you defined who they were.

So, when a new manager comes in, it is a clean slate and they can become whoever they want to be. If they say 'we train at 3 p.m.' and that's the standard, everyone's like 'OK, we train at 3 p.m..' If they set out the standards they expect, that's fine. But -- and maybe it's human nature -- as time passes, you start to see some people start making concessions for certain individuals. But Tudor's contract is so short, that he may not get to that stage.

In this interim role, Tudor can go in and have a quick impact, get buy-in from the players -- be a motivator and organiser -- and succeed in his mission of keeping Spurs up. Their potential is clearly there, but being an interim can make it harder to maintain support within the squad. We saw that during Ralf Rangnick's unsuccessful six-month spell as interim at Manchester United in 2022.

When Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as Manchester City manager in 2009, he didn't have any gravitas among the City players because of who he was, but he was the first appointment of the new owners, so we knew he had all the power in the world to make whatever changes he wanted. There were no discussions. It was his way, his style and that was that. He is the only coach I have ever worked with who told the players that we weren't allowed to laugh while we were jogging around the training pitch to warm up.

But we knew Mancini was the future, and that allowed him to be a true authoritarian. The Spurs players know that Tudor most likely isn't the future, so it feels like a risky move by the club to hire him in the situation they find themselves in.

I experienced a midseason change of manager several times during my playing career, and it rarely had a positive impact. Mancini was perhaps the one coach who made things better for the team. But generally, a new coach will come in and the first thing they will say is that the players aren't fit enough. That's just a way to buy time if initial results and performances aren't good because, if the players aren't fit, it's the last guy's fault, right?

The situation at Nottingham Forest is on a whole other level. The players are now on their fourth coach of the season after Vítor Pereira was hired to replace Sean Dyche, who succeeded Ange Postecoglou, the early-season replacement for Nuno Espírito Santo.

They have had a ridiculous season, leaping from one playing style to another, but they have probably landed on the most reasonable appointment of all in Pereira. He knows the league, has the credentials of having an instant impact when he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers and is also more personable than the coaches who went before him at Forest.

If I was in the Forest squad, four coaches in a season is the type of energy where you probably start doubting whether you're at the right football club, to be honest. But Forest are maybe just two good weeks away from securing Premier League survival, so they can see a path out of their situation.

Spurs should also have enough about them to survive, but there's no doubt Tudor is a strange appointment. We will discover soon enough whether he is the right one or reckless gamble by the club.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to ESPN senior writer Mark Ogden

Tottenham Hotspur have been accused of selectively editing the minutes of a fans' meeting held earlier this month, including taking out a line saying the club "welcomed the input" of supporters.

Representatives of the Spurs board, including chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, met with the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust (THST) on Feb. 3, just over a week before Thomas Frank's dismissal as head coach.

THST said there were a number of specific points raised in the meeting "which the club did not agree to include in the final published version, despite our request."

Among the lines THST says were taken out were: "The club welcomed the input of THST."

Also edited out, THST claims, was a section outlining fans' concern at the risk of relegation from the Premier League, and that the belief generated from winning the Europa League last season had now been "lost."

Concerns around the lack of young players coming through, the club's ability to generate profit and what specific on-field targets lay beneath "strategic principles" set out by the club were also requested to be included but left out, THST said.

- Tottenham job was too big for Frank, but Spurs' problems go much deeper

- Igor Tudor as Tottenham's new head coach: What the stats say

- Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham 'not a big club'

"Publishing a full record of the points raised helps ensure accountability and allows members, and the wider fan-base, to understand how the Trust is fulfilling its role on their behalf," a statement published on the THST website read.

"Transparency is integral to our role and in our dealings with the club."

Tottenham declined to comment, but sources close to the club indicated there was no intention to sanitise the minutes and had sought to produce a factual account of the matters discussed.

Spurs sit 16th in the Premier League with 12 matches to go, five points above the bottom three.

The club have brought in Croatian Igor Tudor as head coach until the end of the season.

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have an interest in signing Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae, while Real Madrid's Víctor Valdepeñas is among Arsenal's favored options to strengthen their defense.

Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

Transfers home page | Men's winter grades | Women's grades

TRENDING RUMORS

- Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have an interest in signing Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae and have him on their respective summer short lists, reports Bild's Christian Falk. Spurs' move would largely depend on who their next permanent manager will be, while the Blues have good options in defense already but want to add to Liam Rosenior's squad after missing out on Liverpool-bound Jérémy Jacquet. Kim, 29, is happy to stay at Bayern but is currently third choice behind Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah.

- Real Madrid's Víctor Valdepeñas is among Arsenal's favored options as Mikel Arteta aims to further reinforce his back line in the summer transfer window, as reported by AS. Even so, the Gunners will face competition to land the 19-year-old -- who plays at either left back or center back for the Castilla side and has made one appearance at senior level -- with several other top clubs in Europe interested. AC Milan have a longstanding desire to sign him, while the Spain U19 international has also caught the eye of clubs in the German Bundesliga.

- Juventus would like to speed up the process of renewing Weston McKennie's contract, but the USMNT midfielder's agents have asked for his wages to be doubled, with his current earnings being between €2.5 million-€3 million per season, reports Gazzetta dello Sport. Juve are willing to offer the 27-year-old a pay rise, with his deal expiring in the summer, but not enough to reach his agent's demands. Other European clubs have shown an interest in signing McKennie as a free agent, but he wants to stay with Juventus.

- Chelsea and Liverpool have put in the most groundwork for a possible move to sign Nottingham Forest center back Murillo, as reported by TEAMtalk. Chelsea are ready to listen to offers for defensive trio Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoît Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah, while there is uncertainty around the futures of Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez at Liverpool. Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have all extensively monitored Murillo amid an expectation that the 23-year-old Brazil international will push for a summer move.

- Bayern Munich are closely following RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande and keen to remain informed on his situation, as manager Vincent Kompany likes the 19-year-old, says Fabrizio Romano. There will still be competition to sign the Ivory Coast international as Paris Saint-Germain are monitoring him, while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have also sent scouts to watch him. Diomande has also been linked with Liverpool and recently clarified that they are his father's favorite club.

EXPERT TAKE

ESPN's Madrid correspondent Alex Kirkland looks at Real Madrid's Víctor Valdepeñas.

It was a surprise when Valdepeñas made his Real Madrid debut earlier this season, but the young defender did well in the team's 2-1 LaLiga win at Alavés, even if then-coach Xabi Alonso singled him out -- a little unfairly -- for a mistake in Alavés' equalizer. Otherwise, the teenager excelled, filling in capably and proving he's a useful option at left back when Álvaro Carreras, Fran García and Ferland Mendy are all unavailable.

Otherwise, Valdepeñas has spent this season impressing with Madrid's reserve team, Castilla, where he tends to play as center back alongside another highly rated prospect, Joan Martínez.

The defender's biggest asset is his pace: He's been known to match Vinícius Junior in sprint tests in training. For months now there have been links with Arsenal and Bundesliga clubs in the Spanish news, and that's no surprise: Madrid's academy is a consistent source of top talent, even if that talent doesn't always find its way into the first team. Just look at Nico Paz's impact at Como, or Chema Andrés' form with Stuttgart.

Valdepeñas has a contract at Madrid until 2029, and his development between now and May will dictate whether Madrid see his future at the Bernabéu, or elsewhere.

OTHER RUMORS

How Antoine Semenyo has had a 'flawless' transition to Man City

Don Hutchison and Kieran Gibbs speak after Manchester City's 2-0 win over Salford City in the FA Cup fourth round.

- AC Milan are open to offers in the region of around €80 million for USMNT winger Christian Pulisic amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United. (Caught Offside)

- Despite offers from the Premier League and Saudi Pro League, Scott McTominay's priority is to stay at Napoli, with talks regarding a contract extension progressing well. (Nicolo Schira)

- Manchester City are plotting a £70 million summer move for Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, who also continues to be subject of interest from Tottenham Hotspur. (Football Insider)

- Arsenal sent a scout to monitor Pio Esposito in Internazionale's 3-2 win over Juventus, in which the 20-year-old scored. (Nicolo Schira)

- Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Crystal Palace have all initiated discussions regarding a possible move for Real Madrid center back Antonio Rudiger. (Caught Offside)

- Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are ready to rival Barcelona for 18-year-old Twente center back Ruud Nijstad. (TEAMtalk)

- Al Ahli striker Ivan Toney has refused to rule out a return to the Premier League after turning down January offers in favor of staying in Saudi Arabia. (Sky Sports)

- Barcelona could let Marc Casado leave as the midfielder is "a victim of the competition" at the club. (Sport)

Aston Villa vs. Spurs (15 Feb, 2026) Live Score  ESPN

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager and player Tim Sherwood has said there is little upside for Igor Tudor in his appointment as head coach until the end of the season.

Tudor, formerly of Juventus, was announced as Spurs boss on Saturday, completing a quick turnaround following Thomas Frank's dismissal on Wednesday.

Sherwood, who recently said it would "be an honour" to take charge in N19 again, has expressed concerns about the implications of Tudor's appointment for his future prospects -- as he takes over a side 16th in the Premier League and five points above the relegation zone.

"It's going to be difficult, he has no knowledge of the Premier League ... Apart from the money, what is the upside for him?" Sherwood said on Sky Sports.

"If he finishes 12th, he's getting no credit. The downside is so catastrophic.

"Would you want your fingerprints all over Tottenham getting relegated from the Premier League?

"I go back to it -- Thomas Frank would still be there if it wasn't for the toxic nature of the fans. And I can totally understand the disgruntlement of the fans, because they're not getting the results."

While an official Tottenham statement naturally refrained from mentioning relegation, it read: "His mandate is straightforward -- bring organisation, intensity and competitive edge to the squad at a decisive stage of the campaign."

- Igor Tudor is Tottenham's new interim head coach -- what the stats say

- Arsenal's Kai Havertz likely to miss Tottenham clash with another injury - sources

Sherwood expressed concern that Tudor, should he manage to lift Spurs into mid-table, would not professionally benefit, while relegation would tar his record.

"I heard people say they're sleepwalking into the Championship. I think they'll have enough, even with the injuries, to get out of it -- but he will get no credit for that," he said.

"The downside is so great... he can only fail. He's getting no credit for keeping Tottenham in the league."

Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Igor Tudor as their new head coach, the club have confirmed.

The former Juventus coach joins Spurs until the end of the season after Thomas Frank was sacked with the club sitting just five points above the relegation zone amid a run of two wins in 17 Premier League games.

Tudor's first game in charge will be the north London derby against arch-rivals and league leaders Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Feb. 22.

Tottenham's official website insisted "his mandate is straightforward -- bring organisation, intensity and competitive edge to the squad at a decisive stage of the campaign."

Tudor said: "It is an honour to join this club at an important moment.

"I understand the responsibility I have been handed and my focus is clear. To bring greater consistency to our performances and compete with conviction in every match.

"There is strong quality in this playing squad, and my job is to organise it, energise it and improve our results quickly."

- Igor Tudor is Tottenham's new interim head coach -- what the stats say

- Arsenal's Kai Havertz likely to miss Tottenham clash with another injury - sources

Tottenham sporting director Johan Lange said: "Igor brings clarity, intensity and experience of stepping into challenging moments and producing impact.

"Our objective is straightforward -- to stabilise performances, maximise the quality within the squad and compete strongly in the Premier League and Champions League."

Tudor, 47, has previously been in charge at Lazio, Marseille and Galatasaray but has never spent more than two years at a single club.

His attention now shifts to keeping reviving Spurs' fortunes and keeping the club out of a relegation battle in the Premier League.

Five days after Thomas Frank was given his marching orders, sources have told ESPN that Igor Tudor is set to be the man tasked with ensuring Tottenham Hotspur avoid a once-unthinkable relegation from the Premier League.

While there were few indications of who the club might be able to turn to in their hour of need, Tudor's name was not one on the lips of most Spurs fans. Sources have told ESPN that Tottenham looked at a small group of candidates and identified Tudor as a leading option due to his extensive head coach experience.

Performing a rescue act is nothing new to Tudor -- he was parachuted in in at Lazio in March 2024 and led them to a seventh-place finish and qualification for the Europa League.

Last season, the Croatian manager replaced Thiago Motta as Juventus boss and managed to secure Champions League football with a late-season turnaround.

But what is there to learn from the numbers behind Tudor's coaching career?

- Tottenham finalising Igor Tudor as interim head coach - sources

Tudor coming for a good time, not a long time

Should his appointment to the role until the end of the season be confirmed, Spurs would be Tudor's 10th different club as a head coach and the Premier League would be the sixth different league in his managerial career.

The only time Tudor has stayed at a club for longer than one full season was in his first career managerial job at Hajduk Split who he managed from 2013 to 2015.

Tudor coached Hajduk Split for 70 matches and they remain the only club he has managed for more than 50 games. He lasted 24 games at Juventus (from March to October 2025).

He was winless in his last eight matches in all competitions for Juventus earlier this season, including three straight losses to end his tenure. Juventus were eighth in the table when he was sacked and the club has since risen to fourth in Serie A.

Comparing Tudor's Juventus to Frank's Tottenham

If Tudor is to make a success of his time at Spurs, he will have to find a way to deliver their first wins of 2026. Under Frank, Spurs were toothless in attack and porous in defence, hence their spiral towards the drop zone.

Encouragingly for Tottenham, Tudor's Juventus -- the most comparable team to Spurs he has coached so far in terms of quality and reputation -- were much more solid at the back than Frank's Spurs. Juventus on average conceded less than a goal a game under the Croatian while Spurs were conceding 1.4 per game under Frank.

While Tudor's win percentage at Juventus (47%) could hardly have been worse than Frank's at Tottenham (27%), if Tudor can replicate his win rate in the Premier League it would rank exactly the same as what José Mourinho managed at the club and 6% better than during Ange Postecoglou's reign.

Another factor in Frank's unpopularity with the Spurs fans was the perception of his team's negative style of play. While statistics cannot always offer a clear indicator of aesthetics, Spurs fans have some reason for hope as Tudor's Juventus side averaged a higher share of possession (55.2% vs. 50.6%) and a slightly higher pass completion percentage (85.8% vs. 82%).

A lack of coaching pedigree?

News of Tudor's apparent arrival has certainly raised eyebrows among the Spurs fanbase who perhaps expected a manager with Premier League experience ready to have an instant impact on their battle against the drop.

While his lack of Premier League pedigree may not turn out to be a disadvantage, Tudor's relatively unheralded CV means he'll have to quickly win hearts and minds in north London.

Croatian side Hajduk Split is the only club for which Tudor has won a title as a head coach (2013 Croatian Cup).

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While he may end up keeping the seat warm for another manager in the summer, Tudor would need to hit the ground running at Spurs in much the same way he has done in his previous two managerial stints.

His first task? A north London derby against Mikel Arteta's table-topping Arsenal.

Information from ESPN's Global Research and James Olley contributed to this story