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Spurs have turned into a toothless side, but the formula to succeed is no secret

Eyes on: Thomas Frank has a winning formula

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Matt Verri

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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri

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After picking up wins over Burnley and Manchester City to start their Premier League season, Tottenham suffered their first stumble under Thomas Frank at the end of August.

It came at home to Bournemouth, a 1-0 defeat courtesy of an Evanilson goal.

Almost three months on, that match feels significant. Spurs offered next to nothing in attack, failing to register a single shot in the first half and finishing with an xG of 0.17 despite trailing for 85 minutes. They have not won at home in the league since.

At the time a limp display of that nature felt like a one-off that could be excused against lively opposition, but if anything it has come to be the norm.

It was also the first and only time so far that Frank has named an unchanged starting lineup from one Premier League match to another.

He went with the same side that beat City at the Etihad a week earlier, it did not work and Frank has been tweaking ever since, searching for solutions that have still not been found.

Spurs have made 28 changes to their starting XI in the league this season. Only Wolves and Chelsea have made more.

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That would not be of concern if Frank was just rotating his options to keep the energy up, but there has been too much chopping and changing with the other team in mind. Frank has prioritised nullifying the opposition over allowing relationships to flourish in the Spurs side.

Pressure is building on the Dane after dismal derby defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea, and the growing sense that the team are not improving.

They were short of ideas in attack against Bournemouth in August and that has remained an almost constant theme ever since. The fans need something to get behind, some sense that Frank is building a project to justify patience, even if results are poor.

Spurs' best recent attacking display came against Copenhagen in the Champions League. The caveat of who the opposition were is an obvious one, but there were much better signs with Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert on the left, which brought the best out of Xavi Simons.

Four days later, Frank strangely went with Djed Spence and Richarlison on the left against Manchester United. Only when Udogie and Odobert came on in the second half did Spurs offer something resembling an attacking threat.

Thomas Frank is prone to tinkering

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There is a strong argument now for Frank picking what his views as his starting lineup and sticking with it. That would help the players, who have too often looked lost on the pitch, and it would provide the feeling that Spurs are working towards something.

It is not a squad with elite attacking options but there is certainly enough to produce more than has been seen in recent weeks. Frank has often turned to the most defensive option and a braver approach is needed.

Lucas Bergvall was one of Spurs' best players earlier in the season but has found minutes hard to come by since. A lineup with him alongside Joao Palhinha, Xavi Simons in front of them and Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert on the left immediately feels more exciting.

Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Richarlison have shared the minutes up front but strikers need confidence and that comes from a run in the side.

Even with a jaw injury, Kolo Muani is the best option and should be starting near enough every match when fit. His relationship with Simons is one Spurs should be prioritising.

If Frank's tweaking was bringing results, particularly against Spurs' biggest rivals, then performances could be somewhat forgiven.

Instead, it currently looks a lot like confusion, not versatility. Stifling the opposition is not good enough as a philosophy, certainly not at a club like Spurs.

More than three months into the season, consistency in both the starting lineup and attacking patterns of play has sorely been lacking. One would surely help the other.

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Matt Verri

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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri

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As the tally of turgid performances increases and the worrying results grow, a quote from Thomas Frank in his very first Tottenham press conference continues to do the rounds.

“To not take a risk, is also a risk," Frank declared, insisting his side would play aggressive, front-footed football.

With no sign of that and Spurs reeling from another miserable derby defeat, the main risk facing Frank now is that his approach is losing the fans.

Going to the Emirates is as tough a test as there is for any team. Spurs have won just once there in the Premier League and expectation of improving on that record was low.

These, though, were the kind of games where Frank was expected to thrive. As he did to real success against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City in August, the Dane has a reputation for devising gameplans for the biggest matches that enable his sides to punch above their weight.

Spurs were blown away by Arsenal at Emirates Stadium

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There was nothing resembling that here. Spurs approached the match like a lower league side in a cup match, as though they accepted they simply could not hurt Arsenal.

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Even from free-kicks won inside their half, the centre-backs went up and Guglielmo Vicario launched the ball into the Arsenal box. It was a sorry sight.

Frank spoke before the match about the need to win the set-piece battle but Spurs played in a way that made winning any set pieces almost impossible, negating a key strength of theirs.

From the first minute Spurs tried to slow the game down. Destiny Udogie took an age over throw-ins and within 25 minutes referee Michael Oliver had called Cristian Romero over to tell him Spurs had to get a move on.

Those tactics, along with the seven defensive players, sent the wrong message from the very start. Spurs played the match like they wanted it to be over from the first whistle.

They were scared and seemingly shorn of any belief they could win. Once Leandro Trossard opened the scoring, the result felt a sure thing.

The stats, again, were damning. An xG of 0.07 was the lowest any side have managed in the Premier League this season. Spurs also hold second place in those particular standings from their dismal defeat to Chelsea.

The style of play matters at Spurs and Frank must start setting the team up like he knows that or his tenure will be in danger of following the short-lived example of Espirito Santo.

Frank will point to the context of the injuries and that is an obvious factor. Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and James Maddison would all improve the team.

Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick for Arsenal

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The plan, though, cannot be to produce these kind of displays while waiting for them to return, desperately hoping they will transform the team.

The trio were not in the starting XI against PSG or City earlier in the season, when Spurs pressed high, rattled their opponents and played with real ambition.

Spurs have gone significantly backwards since those performances and it is why the pressure is building on Frank. Fans put their faith in a new manager when there are signs of progress, that the building blocks are being put in place.

If a defensive system with five defenders and Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur in front of them still brings a heavy defeat, there is nothing really to get behind. Too often Frank's tactics have the other team in mind more than his own.

With a poor style of play, the team not improving and the worst performances coming against Spurs' biggest rivals, it is not hard to see what the questions on Frank are growing.

Add to that the club's home form - Spurs have not won at their stadium in the Premier League since the opening weekend of the season.

Spurs need some sort of response against PSG on Wednesday, but it is the match at home to Fulham on Saturday that is the biggest of the week. Spurs simply must win that and produce something for fans to hang their hat on in attack.

It is still too soon to say Frank's job is under significant pressure. There is an uncertainty, though, over the club's ownership and how patient the increasingly involved younger members of the Lewis family will be in supporting managers.

Frank has regularly pointed to the fact Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League last season in emphasising the size of the task facing him.

He is right but the club also won a trophy. Fans were given one of the best nights of their lives. Results are of course key but so much of the football-supporting experience is about how a team makes fans feel and the journey they are taken on.

Frank's approach right now is one centred on percentages and safety but there is not enough fun and emotion. It is losing the fans and it is hard to believe the players are particularly enthused either.

The Spurs boss is playing a risky game, but it’s not the one he’s talked about.

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Tottenham welcomed back a whole host of names during their 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the north London derby, but they still hace a number of key players sidelined.

Thomas Frank’s side were thrashed at the Emirates Stadium, despite the return of the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, and Randal Kolo Muani to the matchday squad after their respective injuries.

However, holes were still found in Spurs’ rigid 5-4-1 system, and even more so in their squad depth, with several first-choice figures missing out in the capital.

He made a brief cameo in the early exchanges of the campaign before suffering a major setback.

Frank had said before the recent international break that he did not know whether the centre-forward would be able to play before the year was out.

Solanke himself said that he would not put a timeframe on his return to action.

“It’s been very difficult,” Solanke told The Athletic. “At first, I didn’t think I would be out for too long but we didn’t really understand the extent of the injury. I was trying to get back as quickly as I could but it didn’t happen, so I had to have surgery.”

The Romanian stepped up his recovery during the international window, and played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient in his first action since January.

Speaking after the Orient game, Dragusin said: "It felt good, first minutes in 10 months out, finally minutes in the legs and I just have to build on this."

He did not make the matchday squad against Arsenal, but could feature against Fulham after captain Cristian Romero picked up a one-match suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards.

Kulusevski is also closing in on a return, having spent months on the sidelines with a patella injury, for which he underwent surgery after the Europa League final.

Destiny Udogie shared a video of the Swede training on grass during the international break, which could spell a comeback very soon,

Frank has said that there is a “good chance” that the winger could play before the turn of the year.

He has not played at all for his new club since his arrival from Kawasaki Frontale, but Frank said before Spurs’ defeat by Chelsea that the Japanese would “be training soon”.

The Welshman looks like he is treading the comeback trail too, despite having to withdraw from the recent Wales camp due to a hamstring problem.

The defender suffered a setback on the injury that has kept him out since last month.

Frank said that Davies would be out for “four or five weeks” when he was ruled out, but the latest scare could push his return back a tad.

He then picked up another issue that forced him to be stretched off just minutes after his return.

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Sport | Football

Spurs news: Thomas Frank issues apology after crushing derby defeat at Arsenal

Dane was overseeing his first competitive north London derby

Bitterly disappointed: Thomas Frank

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Matt Verri

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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri

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Thomas Frank apologised to the Tottenham fans after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Arsenal.

The Dane's first taste of a competitive north London derby was a painful one, Spurs managing just three shots and barely laying a glove on their rivals.

Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick after Leandro Trossard opened the scoring, while Richarlison netted a superb consolation when lobbing David Raya from 40 yards out.

Arsenal now sit six points clear at the top of the table, while Spurs will drop to tenth if Manchester United pick up at least a point against Everton on Monday night.

The away side were woefully lacking in ambition particularly in the first half and Frank bemoaned how passive his side were.

Asked what most disappointed him about the performance, Frank said: "Where should I start? This is of course hugely disappointing that we didn’t perform better in the game against Arsenal our biggest rivals.

"I can only apologise to the fans for that. I was very confident on Friday when we spoke that we would be competitive today. We tried to come here and be aggressive and press high and in spells go after them.

"We didn’t succeed with that bit. We didn’t manage to get near enough them in the situations we could.

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"It means we got pushed back and got a little too passive. It looks like we are running after them. When we finally got on the ball we were not good enough to get out of those situations."

Spurs started with a back five and had Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur in front of them.

That meant the likes of Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo, Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson were all on the bench as the visitors looked to frustrate the Gunners.

However, it was 2-0 at the break and Frank duly switched to a 4-2-3-1 at half-time. Within a minute, Eze made it 3-0 and effectively put the match to bed.

The back three worked well against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in August, but it was put to Frank that the set-up at the Emirates Stadium had set too negative a tone from the start.

"I’m a very big believer that no matter what system you play you can be successful," Frank said.

"I completely understand the question and I will always take the full responsibility. The full responsibility will always be on me today when we didn’t perform.

"I picked a team that played 5-4-1, changed it half-time - very clever, one minute into it they scored. 3-0. Then the rest is history after that.

"What I would say is that no matter if we played another system we needed to be more aggressive and better in the duels. That doesn’t matter to the system but I need to take responsibility for everything today."

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Les Ferdinand launched into a scathing indictment of Tottenham’s performance after they were thrashed 4-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Thomas Frank took charge of his first competitive north London derby, but could only watch on as his side were torn to shreds by the league leaders, who are now six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Eberechi Eze, who was on the brink of a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer, struck a hat-trick on his derby debut, following up Leandro Trossard’s 36th-minute opener.

Richarlison scored a stunner from distance, lobbying David Raya, but it would go down as just a consolation as Spurs sank to ninth in the table.

In the Sky Sports studio afterwards, Spurs legend Ferdinand fumed at his former club’s defensive approach, with Frank reverting to a back five shape, similar to the one that he adopted in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

“When they came here today with a five at the back, you think to yourself, ‘If you can perform like you performed against PSG’, have a go,” the ex-striker said.

“It wasn’t a negative five at the back [against PSG}, it was a front-footed; go and have a go, and press people.

“They came here, sat back, and allowed Arsenal to come wave after wave. Arsenal didn’t even get out of third gear. Let’s not say this was a five-star performance. The scoreline is five-star. They didn’t have to [put in a five-star showing].

“There was no fight, there was no bite. This is north London. You expect a little bit of spark; a little bit of something. Arsenal had three players that had never played in a north London derby before, Tottenham probably had one.

“There was nothing. Nothing that those players did out there felt like a north London derby to me.”

Tottenham arrived at the Emirates with the best away record in the league, but that was made a mockery of as Arsenal swept their arch-rivals aside with ease.

Arsenal fans unveiled a tifo that included an image of Sol Campbell before the north London against Tottenham.

Ahead of kick-off at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, home supporters unfurled a huge banner at the North Bank showing several former Arsenal players.

Campbell was front and centre on the tifo alongside Thierry Henry, Tony Adams, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Odegaard as Arsenal fans goaded Spurs fans about their former captain.

Campbell joined Arsenal on a free transfer after leaving Spurs in 2001, in what remains one of the most controversial transfers in Premier League history.

The centre-back was Tottenham captain and his move provoked anger among Spurs fans.

Campbell made over 200 appearances for Arsenal, winning two Premier League titles and two FA Cups.

He also scored in the 2006 Champions League final, which Arsenal lost to Barcelona.

The north London derby takes centre stage in the Premier League today as title-chasing Arsenal host bitter rivals Tottenham in an important fixture for both sides. The Gunners saw their lead at the top of the table cut yesterday, but can open up a six-point lead with victory at Emirates Stadium.

An extra incentive for Mikel Arteta’s side to get a win is moving seven clear of Manchester City and 11 clear of reigning champions Liverpool after the two expected title rivals were beaten by Newcastle and Nottingham Forest respectively. Arsenal are boosted by the returns of several key players including Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli but will be without central defender Gabriel.

Tottenham, though, do have the best away record across the entire division and Thomas Frank is bidding to end Spurs’ 15-year winless run in this particular fixture in what is his very first taste of a north London derby. Follow Arsenal vs Tottenham LIVE below with Standard Sport's dedicated match blog, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings and Matt Verri at Emirates Stadium!