Football FanCast

Tottenham have been offered the chance to sign a former Liverpool star who is increasingly desperate to leave his current club, according to a new report.

Tudor braced for crunch Spurs debut against Arsenal

This afternoon, Igor Tudor will walk out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the very first time as head coach and face Arsenal in the North London Derby.

It is, by any measure, one of the most daunting debuts in English football.

A sold-out ground. A fanbase desperate for something — anything — to believe in, and an opponent sitting top of the Premier League with a genuine title in their sights.

Tottenham head into it in dire shape.

They haven't won in their last eight league games, including a 2-0 humbling at Manchester United and a 2-1 defeat at home to Newcastle just ten days ago.

Since Thomas Frank's sacking, the club have turned to Tudor to steady a ship that has been listing badly for months. Tudor has inherited a squad low on confidence and a dressing room that has endured a wretched run of form stretching back to the autumn.

The derby could not have come at a worse time. Or perhaps, for Tudor, it represents the perfect opportunity to make an immediate statement.

Whatever happens on Sunday afternoon, the business of rebuilding this squad will continue in the background, especially after another injury-ravaged season leaves the Spurs squad threadbare.

And it appears Tottenham are already looking at ways to strengthen significantly when the summer window opens.

Tottenham hold talks with ex-Liverpool star Darwin Núñez via intermediaries

TEAMtalk journalist Graeme Bailey now says that the club have been in contact with intermediaries representing Darwin Núñez, the Uruguayan striker currently stranded at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

His situation has now taken a dramatic turn that could open the door to a Premier League return.

Nunez made the move to Riyadh last summer in a deal worth around £46 million, departing Liverpool after a spell that never quite fulfilled its early promise.

He went on to hit nine goals in 24 appearances for Al-Hilal. Then, in February, the club signed Karim Benzema from rivals Al-Ittihad — and Nunez found himself squeezed out entirely due to the Saudi Pro League's strict foreign player quota.

As a result, he cannot play competitive league football again this season, and with the World Cup on the horizon, that is a situation he cannot allow to carry on.

Nunez has been left shocked by the development and is now seriously considering his future.

European clubs have been alerted to his availability, including Tottenham and Newcastle, who have both held talks with the South American's intermediaries.

Even if both sides have been offered the number nine, the major stumbling block is financial.

Nunez earns a reported £400,000 a week in Saudi Arabia, which is far out of Tottenham's reach.

A return to Europe would require him to accept a "huge" pay cut, but Nunez is apparently increasingly open to that possibility in a boost for Spurs and the Magpies.

For Tottenham, a player of Nunez's profile and age — still only 26 — would represent exactly the kind of bold statement signing the club needs.

Whether Tudor survives long enough to see it happen, of course, is another question entirely.

First things first, though, there is a derby to win.

It's derby day. Tottenham Hotspur have been sapped of energy and impetus this season, Thomas Frank's tenure proving an utter failure, but Igor Tudor is ready to turn things around at the business end.

There is little room for mistake, with Frank slumping to a lowly place in the Premier League, scarcely winning any games and leaving Spurs with the London side embroiled in a relegation battle, only five points above 18th-place West Ham United.

It's not going to be easy, but Tudor's Tottenham are going to need to beat Arsenal on Sunday evening to prove that there is new life in this side.

The Lilywhites are going to need to get their creative juices flowing, something that has proved difficult throughout the campaign, and they're going to have to do it without Eberechi Eze, who could have been playing his football down N17 this season.

How Spurs are doing without Eze

When Eze fired in a hat-trick to condemn Tottenham to a sobering north London defeat in November, it added insult to injury for Frank's struggling side, who had a deal all but in place for the England international, only for Arsenal to swoop in and sign him for £67m.

The 27-year-old has risen to prominence over a number of years at Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace, an electric and direct attacker, playing out on the left or in a central position, thrust forward into the danger area.

Tottenham's low-ebb playmaking this term has left everything to be desired, but Eze isn't enjoying the best of seasons at Arsenal, having only scored five goals and supplied six assists across 36 matches in all competitions. That hat-trick, then, makes up the bulk of his direct returns.

In truth, while Eze is competing for the Premier League title, he might have enjoyed more success on an individual level had he signed for Spurs, who could have handed him a talismanic role, especially with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski both long-term absentees.

Arsenal paid a pretty penny for the Three Lions star, but Tottenham might actually have a better player in their mix. In hindsight, perhaps it worked out okay.

Spurs have a talent who's "better than Eze"

Tottenham missed out on Eze, but they may well feel they've signed an even bigger talent in Xavi Simons, who joined the club from RB Leipzig for £52m last summer, after that initial bid fell through.

Simons has struggled at times this season, lacking clarity and confidence in the early knockings of the campaign, but he was one of the brighter Lilywhites players in the closing stages of Frank's stint at the helm, and now, he could break onto new ground for Tudor.

The new Spurs boss favours a 3-4-2-1 formation, and this he could implement on Sunday, with Joao Palhinha dropping deep into a quasi-central defensive role in the absence of the suspended skipper Cristian Romero.

What this would mean is that Simons would play in an advanced attacking role, shadowing Dominic Solanke from the left side.

With Souza or Djed Spence overlapping, hugging the wing, this might be the perfect way for Simons' creative qualities to shine through, having still created six big chances from only 15 starts in the Premier League this season, assisting four goals in total.

The key point here is that Arsenal signed Eze for an instant impact, and he hasn't managed to provide that at the Emirates. Simons, however, has withstood a stern test with Spurs at their lowest, and given that he's been hailed as being "better than Eze" by Jamie O'Hara after he joined the club, it's fair to say he may be justifying that.

How would the English winger have fared at Frank's Tottenham, a disjointed and disorganised mess that has plummeted the club to their nadir?

At least Simons has started to spread his wings in recent weeks and showcase his quality. Aged 22, Simons is a work in progress, but it's not outrageous to claim that he's enjoying a better season than Eze, even if the former Eagles talisman lands himself a Premier League title this season.

Tottenham would love nothing more than to disrupt that on Sunday, and if Simons is on his A-game, they just might at that.

The North London Derby is right around the corner, and Tottenham Hotspur fans are desperate for a reprieve from the miserable form that has consumed their season.

There's still time to turn things around, of course, with Igor Tudor taking control of a side who have waltzed right through to the last 16 of the Champions League.

However, relegation talk in the Premier League cannot continue, and if Spurs are to change that narrative this weekend, they are going to have to beat an Arsenal side who boast a formidable record against their neighbours.

Tottenham's recent record vs Arsenal

There's no sugarcoating it: Tottenham have struggled against their north London rivals for a while. In each of the previous three Premier League campaigns, the Gunners have taken all the points down N17, and you'd have to trace back to 2021/22, eight meetings ago, to find the last time Spurs secured a win in this fixture.

Tudor is looking to salvage something from Tottenham's weary campaign, and beating Arsenal in his first contest would be an incredible way to lift the mood, putting some much-needed breathing room between Tottenham and the dreaded dotted line at the foot of the league table.

You would think that Spurs have the capabilities to end this losing run against their neighbours, who have indeed won three in a row over the road.

On top of that, the Lilywhites have suffered deeply at their home ground since the start of last season, winning eight, drawing seven and shockingly losing 17 fixtures since the start of the previous Premier League season.

If Tottenham are to pull this one off, they are going to need passion and inspiration. Tudor will expect his players to fight for each other and chase down every possible cause.

With the aggressive Romero still absent, Spurs are going to need another leader to step up, and Tudor might just find one in his answer to Declan Rice.

Tudor must unleash Spurs' answer to Rice

Rice is Arsenal's talisman, and if he is allowed to assert his authority in the engine room on Sunday, it will spell danger for the hosts, whose dynamism in the centre of the park has been anything but impressive this season.

And with Cristian Romero sidelined through suspension, there's a distinctive lack of leadership that could prove Tottenham's undoing. That said, Archie Gray has emerged as one of the Londoners' most important players, and he could actually be the one to rival Rice.

Gray, 19, is one of the brightest talents in England, and he's already chalked up 71 appearances for Spurs after leaving boyhood club Leeds United in a deal jsut shy of £30m in 2024.

He has not been fazed by the tricky circumstances the club have been bothered by in recent years, and he has played every minute of his team's past three Premier League matches, a midfielder moonlighting at right-back.

Gray is young and inexperienced, but he's got the potential to become the main man for his club, already showing himself to be more committed and more tenacious than some of his teammates.

Indeed, Harry Redknapp has even gone as far as to claim that "the future Tottenham captain" has been outshining his so-called senior peers.

There's something to be said about that. Gray scored, completed two dribbles and won four duels as Tottenham lost to Newcastle United last time out, that one proving the end of Thomas Frank's miserable tenure. He stood up, a leader, age-belying in his performance.

Not only is Gray considerd skipper material, but he's also tipped to become one of the most valuable players in the Premier League, with analyst Ben Mattinson declaring he is a “future £100m” footballer.

Given that Arsenal signed Rice for £105m back in 2023, Gray might just prove himself to be the Lilywhites' own version, and he'll have a chance to prove his quality in the centre of the park on Sunday.

Tottenham could welcome back a member of their squad next week as the player in question targets an imminent return to training.

Sunday's North London Derby could not have arrived at a more dramatic moment in Tottenham's turbulent season.

Igor Tudor will take charge of his first game as Spurs manager against their fiercest rivals, Arsenal, with the Croatian handed the unenviable task of steadying a ship that has been listing badly for months.

Two managers ago, this was a club that had just won the Europa League.

Now, Tottenham sit just five points above the Premier League relegation zone, having gone eight top flight games without a win.

Thomas Frank paid the price for that miserable run last week. Tudor, the former Juventus boss, has walked into arguably the most pressurised debut of his managerial career — though history is at least on his side, having won his first game at each of his last five clubs.

Arsenal, meanwhile, arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with their own nerves fraying.

The Gunners dropped points against Wolves recently and know that a defeat here could blow the title race wide open. Neither side is in the mood to give an inch.

With Spurs captain Cristian Romero still serving a four-game suspension and a lengthy injury list hampering Tudor's options, Sunday's encounter promises to be ferocious — and difficult viewing for the home faithful.

Yet, amid the tension and the chaos of a season gone sideways, there is at least one quietly positive story emerging from Hotspur Way, even if it has little to do with the first team.

Mason Melia nearing return from injury at Tottenham

BBC Sport's Nizaar Kinsella is reporting that Mason Melia, Tottenham's highly-rated new teenage striker, is closing in on a return to training as early as next week.

The 18-year-old Irishman joined Spurs in January from St Patrick's Athletic in a deal worth £1.6m, potentially rising to £3.2m with add-ons — a record fee for a player departing League of Ireland football.

His arrival had been long anticipated.

Spurs beat off competition from Everton, Chelsea, Man City, Celtic, Genk, Bologna and Eintracht Frankfurt to land his signature, such was the level of interest in him across Europe.

The decision to loan out fellow striker Dane Scarlett to Hibernian for the rest of the season was made with Melia's imminent arrival firmly in mind.

The only setback has been a minor back complaint that Tottenham's medical staff identified when he first walked through the door. It was not considered serious, but the club were cautious enough to keep him out of any competitive involvement while it was resolved.

That period of patience now appears to be coming to an end.

Once fit, Melia is expected to link up with the Spurs Under-21s initially, with the door left open for involvement with Tudor's first team if he takes his opportunity.

Given Spurs' threadbare attack and the pressure Tudor will face to produce results quickly, it would not be a surprise to see Melia fast-tracked if he hits the ground running.

Thomas Frank is anciet history, and it's the Igor Tudor chapter at Tottenham Hotspur, with the Croatian coach drafted in to save the Londoners' season.

On Sunday, Arsenal will present Tudor and his coaching staff with the toughest of tests, but the Gunners are hardly in the best of form, and Tudor's freshly implemented system could make it one to remember for the struggling hosts.

The 47-year-old's arrival comes with many questions. Will Spurs look to get on the front foot? How will they hold up against Arsenal's frontline?

The most pertinent question, though, centres on the formation and line-up Tudor will field on his Premier League debut.

Tudor's predicted XI vs Arsenal

Tudor is a proponent of the 3-4-2-1 formation. It's a slightly contentious set-up that bears a whiff of Antonio Conte's one-time system in London.

However, the Croatian coach is adaptable, and with Cristian Romero and Kevin Danso absent, we're likely to see Micky van de Ven partner with Radu Dragusin at the rear, flanked by Pedro Porro and Djed Spence in his moonlit left-back role.

Sadly, the N17 side are struggling with so many injuries to key players, but we should still see a dynamic midfield, Joao Palhinha the anchor and Conor Gallagher joined by one of Pape Sarr or Archie Gray, who has been impressive in recent weeks.

Gallagher, 25, needs to step up after his £35m move from Atletico Madrid in January. The England international is a dynamic, high-energy style of midfielder, and that presence will be crucial in winning the central battles against Declan Rice and co.

This is a group of players who have been fighting beneath their weight class this season, and many of them should be doing better. The forwards need to make headway, and Randal Kolo Muani will no doubt be buoyed by Tudor's arrival, having scored five times from 11 games under the manager's wing at Juventus last year.

However, not everyone at Spurs has been poor this season, and there's one player in particular who could thrive on Sunday, perhaps even good enough to walk right into Arteta's starting line-up.

The Spurs star who'd walk into Arsenal's team

Tottenham are not as strong or as coherent a unit as Arsenal right now, and that's a hard fact. However, that doesn't mean they can't beat their bitter rivals, who laboured to a draw at Molineux on Wednesday evening.

In order to achieve this, Tudor must unleash Dominic Solanke at number nine.

Solanke left Bournemouth for north London in 2024, completing an initial £55m transfer to Tottenham. However, the 28-year-old's time at the club has been ruined by injuries, both last season and this year.

He was unable to prevent Frank's sacking earlier this month, but with four goals from nine matches since bouncing back from injury, Solanke might just hold the key to turning things around, and he could certainly prove himself an upgrade on Viktor Gyokeres, who signed for the Gunners from Sporting Lisbon for a £64m fee last summer.

There are similarities. Both are strong and able carriers, naturally gifted in front of goal and experienced in the European game. However, it looks like Solanke, a "pressing monster", according to journalist George Sessions, might just be the superior player, more intelligent and better with his movement around the area.

Indeed, there's no question that Gyokeres has been the weak link in Arteta's team this season, and the lack of a world-class goalscorer may prove their downfall in the chase for a title, yet again.

Of course, he might be a powerful kind of frontman, a focal point for his teammates to target, but that's not to say that Solanke isn't capable of producing the spectacular.

The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell hailing him as a "top, multi-faceted forward" during his Bournemouth days, and with a prolific edge to his game too, the Three Lions star would trump Gyokeres at the spearhead of Arsenal's title-winning system, and this might just prove advantageous for Tottenham on derby day.

Tottenham fans have been through a lot this season, and there's no question that this Super Sunday clash will be approached with a measure of trepidation.

But if Tudor polishes the system and ensures the Spurs players are ready to fight for each other, they might just pull off something special, especially with Solanke leading the line.

It's been a tough season for Tottenham Hotspur, and now, with Igor Tudor at the helm for the remainder of the campaign, they know they can either sink or swim.

Indeed, Tudor's first port of call is to engineer a 'manager bounce' and lift Spurs back up to higher ground in the Premier League, well away from the relegation zone they are in danger of plummeting into.

However, it's important to remember that Tudor is only on call until the end of the season, when his interim contract expires.

If he proves a success over the business months of the season, he'll be in the running for the job, but there's no question that Mauricio Pochettino remains the leading candidate to whip this beleaguered bunch back into shape.

Why Spurs want to appoint Pochettino

It's understood that Tottenham have marked a shortlist comprised of three managers: Roberto De Zerbi, Andoni Iraola, Pochettino.

Pochettino, of course, knows the north Londoners well, and he's admitted in the past, since leaving, that he would love to return one day.

His prime Spurs side were a force to be reckoned with, after all, and that level of fluidity and attacking sharpness could go a long way toward rekindling this club and restoring the identity that has gone walkabouts over the past several months.

Small wonder that Spurs were so successful, with Poch's attack-oriented system charged by a clear culture that gave rise to talents such as Dele Alli.

What Tottenham would give to have such a player in their mix. There is actually someone in the squad who's considered a similar player to the troubled England sensation, but he's actually emerging as the Londoners' new Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Spurs have found their new Hojbjerg

Dele was slated by Jose Mourinho to become "one of the world's best". He is a two-time winner of the PFA Young Player of the Year, and he sc

The 29-year-old was such a unique midfielder, and in Conor Gallagher, perhaps there were some at Tottenham who thought they had landed a new version when signing Atletico Madrid's centre-midfielder for £35m in January.

The one-time Chelsea star was described as playing like a “Poch-era Dele Alli” by The Athletic's Jack Pitt-Brooke. This was a glowing endorsement of the Three Lions star's quality, a skilled presser and dangerous asset when charging into the final third.

That said, Gallagher perhaps doesn't offer quite as much variation as Tottenham fans had been led to believe, and in this, he might actually be emerging as the new Hojbjerg, keeping it crisp and winning plenty of duels without offering very much nuance on the ball.

Hojbjerg completed 184 matches for Tottenham after joining from Southampton in 2020. His combative side led Danish teammate Morten Bisgaard to hail him as a "monster", and this is something he shares with Gallagher, who is also intelligent and industrious.

The key point here, though, is that Gallagher, 25, lacks the ability to puncture defences, rarely creating a goal from nothing and rarely splitting defences open with surgical passing.

There were qualities Dele boasted in his Premier League heyday, and while Gallagher might have been considered such a player before he made the move to Spurs, it's quite clear that he does not fit the same mould.

If Pochettino does return to the club this summer, he will make use of Gallagher's skillset, for sure, but there's no question that he will not designate the Englishman a playmaking berth of a semblance to that which Dele played way back when.

Instead, he may need to control the midfield and dictate the tempo from deeper, and in that, he would be the new Hojbjerg.

Arsenal have been handed a timely boost ahead of their crunch North London derby clash against Tottenham, according to Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal set for biggest game of the season against Spurs

Sunday could hardly matter more.

Arsenal travel to Tottenham sitting top of the Premier League, and a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would drive a potentially decisive gap between themselves and the chasing pack in the title race.

For Spurs, it is an entirely different kind of pressure — a new manager in the dugout, a shambolic injury list and a fan base desperate for something to cling to after a wretched few months.

Igor Tudor takes charge of his first fixture as Spurs boss, and they could barely have asked for a tougher introduction.

It is, in short, a game that both clubs desperately need and for entirely different reasons. And heading into the weekend, the fitness news from the Arsenal camp has given Arteta genuine cause for optimism.

The Spaniard confirmed earlier this week that both captain Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are in contention to return against Spurs, but Arteta has now shared more good news.

The biggest scare in the days since Wednesday's deeply frustrating 2-2 draw at Wolves centered around Leandro Trossard.

The Belgian came off the bench to replace Bukayo Saka midway through the second half, only to be caught by a blow to the jaw from Wolves defender Santiago Bueno in the closing stages.

A concussion substitution was immediately called, and Trossard was withdrawn for assessment.

Given the strict protocols surrounding head injuries — players must pass through a series of stages before being cleared to return to competitive action — so the concern was immediate and serious.

Trossard was therefore a doubt to face Tottenham this weekend as a result, but at his pre-match press conference today, the Arsenal boss delivered a welcome update.

Trossard clears concussion scare to boost Arsenal ahead of derby showdown

Trossard is in fact fine.

No concussion was confirmed, meaning the 31-year-old is free to feature this weekend without any protocol restrictions standing in his way.

"Yes," said Arteta when asked if Trossard is ok for Sunday.

"He's fine, yes."

It is a significant boost.

Trossard has contributed five goals and five assists in the Premier League this season and offers Arteta a level of versatility and composure that is difficult to replace.

The good news did not stop there. Arteta revealed there is "a big possibility" that both Odegaard and Havertz will be available for Sunday.

Odegaard has been sidelined with a knee problem picked up at Brentford, while Havertz has been nursing a hamstring issue since the win over Sunderland earlier this month. Neither made the trip to Molineux in midweek.

Should both return, Arsenal's squad suddenly looks considerably stronger than it did 48 hours ago.

Arteta also confirmed there are no fresh concerns, which points to Bukayo Saka being available after his own late withdrawal against Wolves.

Unfortunately for teenage sensation Max Dowman, the 16-year-old is still unlikely to feature despite returning to training this week.

Spurs, by contrast, are understood to be without at least 10 first-team players through injury and suspension, with doubts remaining over Richarlison and Pedro Porro ahead of final checks.

The stage is set. For Tudor, it is a baptism of fire. For Arteta and Arsenal, it is an opportunity they cannot afford to waste.

Tottenham Hotspur have nearly reached the weekend, and Igor Tudor is ready to welcome Arsenal to N17 and win a deflated fanbase on his first day under the spotlight.

It's been a testing period for the Lilywhites. Thomas Frank was sacked last week after a miserable attempt at succeeding Ange Postecoglou, who won the Europa League last year but was dismissed by Daniel Levy in one final display of authority.

That call has split opinion, but Spurs supporters are in concert that Frank's run has been the lowest of the low. It's crucial that sporting director Johan Lange and club CEO Vinai Venkatesham handle this deftly, with West Ham United only five points behind them on the edge of the Premier League relegation zone.

Tottenham have a front-footed manager at the helm for the remainder of the campaign, but who could he actually rekindle and see take charge in a sustained return to form.

The Spurs stars Tudor could revive

Last summer, Tottenham signed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig. The Dutch playmaker cost them £52m, and he has been coveted by Chelsea earlier in the transfer window.

However, he's had something of a tough time, his creativity neutered by Frank's stuttering system. Bringing such a high-potential attacking midfielder to the fore will be among Tudor's priorities.

Randal Kolo Muani is another who could find his feet. Did you know the struggling loanee enjoyed a brief but rewarding stint under the Croatian coach at Juventus last season, scoring five goals across only 11 matches during that spell.

On the right flank, Pedro Porro has taken his share of flak this season. Some of his defensive displays have been woeful; he's made five defensive errors this season. That said, he remains a superb creative asset.

Should Tudor implement the 3-4-2-1 formation that has been his preference in previous jobs, Porro might just find himself in a more suitable role, with the added centre-back adding security and more grass coverage at the back.

Of course, whether Spurs actually have the numbers in central defence remains to be seen. Or indeed the quality to make it happen.

There is one man who could make it happen and become the centrepiece of Tudor's system, emulating a former icon in Mousa Dembele.

Tudor could revive Spurs' wantaway star

Dembele is one of the best-loved Tottenham players in recent memory, having arrived from Fulham in 2013 and initially struggled before growing into a unique and irreplaceable part of the system, adept in a box-to-box midfield role.

An expert controller, Dembele's metronomic grasp on the central midfield was a thing of beauty, and he was once hailed by Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne as being "the best in the world".

In this, Cristian Romero could make a similar case, with a skillset that most centre-backs could only dream of, yet a player who has been hindered by inconsistency.

Deembele polished his boots after an up-and-down start to life in north London, and Tudor could drill in a stable system that would give rise to Romero's finer qualities, finally securing him the recognition he deserves as one of the very best to do it.

Tudor's vision aligns more closely with Romero's own outlook. Aggression is embraced in this new world at Tottenham, though channelled and used to promote front-footed football that will make greater use of the Argentina international's technical abilities and his aerial ability in the attacking box.

The 27-year-old Romero, let's not forget, might be at something of a low ebb but remains an elite centre-half, someone who stands taller than Micky van de Ven (figuratively). He's hot-headed and passionate to a fault, but that doesn't mean he's the real deal.

Tottenham fans know this, of course, and while Chris Waddle has asserted to Football FanCast that he "never really wanted to be at Spurs", his anger toward the board and the position his team find themselves in says otherwise.

There is a sinking feeling, right there in the pit of Lilywhites fans' stomachs, that Romero is headed for the exit. He's a contentious figure, for sure, but the South American is one of the best in the business, hailed by journalist Roy Nemer as "one of the best defenders in the world".

The skipper has the potential to become a true talisman for Tottenham over the coming months, and while rumours of his potential sale are concerning, Tudor could be the perfect force to bring him back to the fore, content in his berth at Tottenham once again.

Tottenham Hotspur's interim manager, Igor Tudor, has been thrown in at the deep end. At the end of his first week in the job, his side will host title-challenging Arsenal in the Premier League.

Tudor will have a clearer picture of what lies ahead after watching the Gunners' draw at Molineux against bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers, but there's no question that Spurs' recent record against their north London rivals has left much to be desired.

While Spurs are at a low ebb after Thomas Frank's disastrous tenure, this reset could bear dividends, releasing the players from the constraints that have kept them so far below the level we know they are capable of reaching.

However, Arsenal are a ferocious beast, and Mikel Arteta's side will be desperate to get back on track after a disappointing run of results that have jeopardised their title charge.

Tudor cannot let that happen, and to secure all three points, the Croatian coach might want to make a bold call and drop Xavi Simons from the starting line-up.

Why Tudor might drop Xavi Simons

Last summer, Tottenham signed Simons from RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga, and it's fair to say he had a tough time in the early knockings of the season, with content creator Ronaldo Brown claiming the diminutive playmaker had been "swallowed in the Premier League" due to his lack of rhythm and physicality.

It might help Spurs' case to make their system a bit more compact, especially in the first half. Tottenham suffer from one of the worst first-half records in the Premier League this season, 16th on that count.

Dropping Simons might feel like something of a negative move, but Arsenal have an unforgiving midfield, led by Declan Rice. The Dutchman could be a priceless weapon from the bench, injecting creativity and energy.

Moreover, this tactical tweak would give Tudor the license to reshape the Spurs frontline, giving an up-and-coming talent a shot who has been billed as the next Thierry Henry.

Tudor must unleash Spurs' own Thierry Henry

Simons is one of Tottenham's most enterprising attacking outlets, and so if Tudor is going to make such a call, he'd need to get it right, and by starting Mathys Tel in the 22-year-old's stead, he might just at that.

Admittedly, Tel isn't exactly a hidden gem in north London. The former Bayern Munich has been at the club for just over a year, and his loan spell became permanent for £30m last summer.

However, the French prospect has had a tough time in Frank's system, twice excluded from the Lilywhites' European squad. In the Premier League, he has only started six times.

A devastating finisher with dynamic and athletic movement, it hasn't worked for Tel yet, but this managerial shift could bear dividends for him, Jerman Defoe hailing him for his "Thierry Henry-like" versatility across the frontline.

Henry, of course, played his Premier League football in different north London colours, and he never lost in 11 career matches against Spurs, scoring five goals and supplying three assists.

Tel has already faced the brunt of Mikel Arteta's side, but he was also hailed as a "mind-blowing" talent by football scout Jacek Kulig when cutting his teeth in Germany, and for Tudor to give him a significant show of faith could bring him back into the ascendancy.

Tel has only scored three Premier League goals this season, but he's only missed three big chances and has won 51% of his duels. He's gifted in front of goal and has a combative edge too.

There's no question that Spurs have regressed this season. Simons is not the problem, but so far, he hasn't quite provided the solution that the board would have hoped for.

Tel, however, is one of the most promising finishers in the Premier League, and with a Titi-esque quality about him, the north London derby might just be the perfect match for him to step up under the tutelage of a new tactical mind in Tudor.

New interim Tottenham boss Igor Tudor is handing out fresh chances to players in training, with the Croatian also calling on a teenager who's yet to make his first-team debut.

Tudor set for massive Tottenham managerial debut against Arsenal

When Tudor landed in London last weekend and took in the full scale of what awaited him at Hotspur Way, he would have known the next few months were going to test every ounce of his experience.

What he perhaps did not anticipate quite so quickly was having to look beyond his recognised first-team squad just to field a competitive training group.

That, however, is the reality facing him this week.

Tudor's mandate from Tottenham's hierarchy is simple — drag this club away from relegation danger and restore some semblance of identity after a season of chronic underwhelm.

The 47-year-old has wasted no time setting the tone.

Training sessions have been sharper, more intense, more demanding than anything the players experienced under Thomas Frank (Standard Sport) — a manager whose methods had reportedly grown stale. The squad, by all accounts, have apparently responded positively to the jolt.

Tudor arrives at N17 carrying a reputation for 'high risk' and 'exciting' football, with the Times' Tom Allnutt backing this up, claiming the tactician encourages an 'aggressive' and 'front-foot' style of play.

With Sunday's North London derby against table-topping Arsenal looming and 10 players currently missing through injury, Tudor is having to get creative.

Captain Cristian Romero remains suspended, while James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert are also still out.

The list of absentees reads like a who's who of Spurs' most important players.

Odobert's ACL injury looks set to end his season, while Bergvall could stay out of action until April.

So, Tudor has done what the situation demands. He has gone looking for solution, and one of them has come from an unexpected corner.

Igor Tudor calls James Wilson to Tottenham training ahead of Arsenal

Reports from the London Evening Standard and journalist Sam Tabuteau have revealed that Tudor has called 18-year-old striker James Wilson into first-team training ahead of Sunday's clash with Arsenal.

The teenager, who only arrived at Spurs on deadline day in February on loan from Hearts — with an option to make the move permanent in the summer — was brought in specifically to bolster the group as Tudor prepares his squad for the biggest fixture in the Premier League calendar.

This comes as Tudor apparently plots to give players 'fresh opportunities' to impress at Tottenham, with Wilson now seemingly one of them.

The young Scot, who became his country's youngest ever debutant after breaking a record which stood since the 19th century, is a player who knows how to score goals.

He impressed at Hearts, amassing eight strikes in 45 senior appearances and becoming the youngest scorer in the history of the UEFA Conference League at just 17.

What is remarkable is the speed of his elevation. Signed to develop with Spurs' Under-21 side, Wilson has now found himself training alongside first-team players barely a fortnight after touching down in north London — purely because Tudor simply does not have the numbers to work with otherwise.

Whether he features on Sunday remains to be seen.

Tudor is not a manager who throws teenagers into derbies for the sake of it. But the fact that Wilson is even in the conversation tells you everything about the scale of the crisis that has engulfed this football club.

For a kid who grew up watching football from the terraces at Tynecastle, it is some week to find yourself part of a North London derby build-up.