Thomas Frank has expressed his apologies to Tottenham fans following their 4-1 loss to north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, yet he refrained from attributing the defeat to his defensive strategy.
After Leandro Trossard netted the opener in the 36th minute, Eberechi Eze made history by scoring the first hat trick in a north London derby in 47 years. Tottenham’s only response came from Richarlison‘s stunning long-range goal.
Tottenham employed a five-man defense but managed only two shots throughout the match, finishing with an expected goals tally of 0.07—the lowest of any Premier League team this season.
With just one point from a possible nine against rivals Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United, Frank remarked: “Each match has been different. I believe we performed better against United than we did today or against Chelsea. Although both Chelsea and Arsenal’s results look poor on the surface, I need to analyze this further.”
“There’s definitely a lot to improve on. It’s fair to say we are extremely disappointed with our performance today, and I won’t shy away from that.”
“I apologize to the fans. Given where we came from last season, finishing 17th, we’ve aimed to build something, but today it didn’t appear that we achieved that.”
When questioned about whether his conservative team selection affected the game’s tone—utilizing Kevin Danso in a backline with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero while leaving players like Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel, Brennan Johnson, Lucas Bergvall, and Randal Kolo Muani on the bench—Frank responded: “I firmly believe that any system can succeed. While I understand your concern, I will take full responsibility for the team’s performance today.”
“I opted for a 5-4-1 formation, but after changing it at halftime, we instantly conceded another goal one minute in—3-0 down, and the game just unraveled from there.”
“Ultimately, regardless of the system employed, we needed to be more tenacious and effective in our duels. This isn’t an issue tied to the system; I must be accountable for today’s outcome.”
“We were simply too distant from our opponents in the duels we aimed to engage in, whether that be from a lack of fight or simply not performing well enough.”
Following this match, Tottenham has slipped to seventh place in the standings and will face Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.