Tottenham Hotspur endured their most embarrassing defeat of the campaign to date yesterday, but doing so against bitter rivals Arsenal at the Emirates.
Thomas Frank’s men suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of Mikel Arteta’s side, with former transfer target Eberechi Eze netting a hat-trick during the one-sided contest.
Richarlison’s phenomenal long-range effort was overshadowed by the result, with the Dane having a huge task on his hands to prevent such a result from occurring in the near future.
Such a result was the Lilywhites’ first away defeat of the Premier League campaign, but the nature of the North London Derby will be the biggest concern to the supporters.
Numerous players also failed to make a positive impression against the Gunners, which could see their places in the starting eleven be at huge risk in the upcoming fixtures.
Spurs’ poor performers against Arsenal yesterday
Attacker Mohammed Kudus was missing for the last couple of Spurs outings through injury, but the Ghanaian was recalled to the starting eleven for the North London Derby.
However, the 25-year-old struggled to make the desired impact at the Emirates, with his performance one that ultimately failed to impress the fanbase.
He featured for 78 minutes of the contest and was only able to register 30 touches of the ball and ultimately was unable to notch a single effort on David Raya’s goal.
Kudus’ lack of impact will no doubt have been aided by the struggles of the midfield two, with Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur operating at the base of Frank’s side.
The pair were far too ineffective during the defeat to Arteta’s men, subsequently only registering a single pass into the final third between them during the embarrassing display.
The Uruguayan international also lost 100% of the duels he entered against the Gunners, often being dominated by the opposition and being unable to have the desired impact on proceedings.
The Spurs star who had fewer touches than Vicario against Arsenal
Spurs’ display against Arsenal was nothing short of a disgrace, with Frank’s decision to switch to a back five massively restricting the side within forward areas of the pitch.
The defeat against the Gunners has now extended the Lilywhites’ dismal run away from home in such a fixture, with the club now only winning one away game out of their last 33 in the NLD.
Frank’s men only achieved a total xG of 0.07 during the 90 minutes at the Emirates, with Richarlison’s long-ranger goal just one of two shots on target during the contest.
The defensive setup led to the toothless showing yesterday, with the manager needing to take huge responsibility for making such a significant call in a vital clash.
He did hand Wilson Odobert the chance to impress from the off at the Emirates, but like many of his teammates, the Frenchman failed to deliver during the defeat.
The 20-year-old featured for a total of 66 minutes against the Gunners, but he only managed to achieve a total of 23 touches in the process – the lowest of any Lilywhites attacker.
His subsequent tally was lower than that of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, with the Italian racking up a total of 57 as he tried to prevent the onslaught from the hosts.
As for Odobert, his lack of quality within the final third was evident by his underlying figures, which further showcase his inability to impress during his rare league start.
The Frenchman failed to complete any of his two attempted crosses, whilst also failing to register a single effort on Raya’s goal – subsequently being unable to cause the opposition any trouble at all.
Minutes played
66
Touches
23
Passes completed
7
Crosses completed
0
Shots taken
0
Possession lost
9x
Aerials won
0
Match rating
3/10
Other numbers, such as zero aerials won and nine times possession lost, further highlight his struggles in North London, with the manager potentially wanting to drop the youngster after such a showing.
As a result of his lack of positive impact, Odobert was handed a measly 3/10 match rating by Football London’s Alasdair Gold – topping off a dismal afternoon for the attacker.
His lightweight nature ultimately wasn’t suitable for the Derby Day clash with Arsenal, subsequently highlighting another glaring error made by Frank at the Emirates.
Frank desperately needs to learn from such a selection mistake in the games ahead, otherwise, he could seriously find himself struggling to maintain his position as manager of Spurs.
Spurs flop who looks "non-league" level must never start for Frank again
Tottenham Hotspur fell to a humbling 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the North Lodnon Derby this evening.
1 ByEthan Lamb