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Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday during this season, The Athletic will discuss three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s football.

This was the weekend when Manchester City squeaked a win over Leeds United, Newcastle United put their woes behind them by thrashing Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion moved into Champions League contention and Manchester United impressed in beating Crystal Palace.

Here we will ask if everyone was pleased with Chelsea and Arsenal’s draw, what Mohamed Salah’s omission from the team that beat West Ham United means for Liverpool and Arne Slot, and whether Thomas Frank is picking the wrong fights.

Was anyone (or everyone?) a winner from Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1?

Draws are inherently unsatisfying. The point of this game is to win, so when neither team manages that, even the neutral is usually left feeling a little short-changed.

However, was everyone a winner from Chelsea and Arsenal’s 1-1 draw on Sunday?

Let’s start with us neutrals. There is something about a late afternoon Sunday game at Stamford Bridge that feels quite visceral and exciting: remember all of those games against Liverpool or Manchester United in the late 2000s/early 2010s, when it was basically dark by the time the game kicked off and you witnessed a pair of juggernauts slam into each other? Heady days.

That’s a bit how this one felt, two of the best three teams in the country slugging it out in a game that was aggressive, perhaps lower than you’d like on actual quality football, but nonetheless grittily enjoyable. Plenty may take the opposite view, and will have been unable to properly enjoy a game that didn’t exactly display the slickest play and finest skills, but a game doesn’t have to be ‘good’ to be entertaining.

Then there’s Chelsea. That’s easy: while they have title ambitions and thus will have been gunning for a win, there’s no way they can’t be satisfied with a draw against probably the best team in Europe, having been down to 10 men for two-thirds of the game.

Even Arsenal. Mikel Arteta expressed mild frustration to the media that Arsenal hadn’t won, but acknowledged that it has been a hell of a week, and they’ve come away with seven points from games against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Chelsea. They did it without a bunch of key players, too — they didn’t have either of their first-choice centre-backs against Chelsea, plus started without a specialist striker or their captain and key creator.

And finally, Manchester City. They might have laboured to a 3-2 win against Leeds, a promoted team who look in danger of going straight back down, but the draw means that they are the closest challengers to Arsenal. They’re five points behind, which, considering the fragilities they have shown at various stages and Arsenal’s apparent lack of them, is not too bad.

So if it’s possible for everyone to be satisfied with the outcome of a game, then this one comes as close as any.

Does leaving out Salah mean more to Liverpool than just this win?

We’ll get the caveats out of the way first.

This is not a good West Ham team, despite their hints at something more competent since Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival. There was also the significant help from one of the more brainless and pointless red cards you’ll see, as Lucas Paqueta managed to talk himself into getting sent off and thus kill any prospect of West Ham mounting a successful comeback.

But after a calamitous run that saw them lose six of their last seven Premier League games, drop out of the title race and put their Champions League qualification in doubt, Liverpool won’t care about the quality of the opposition.

That the win came partly thanks to Alexander Isak’s first league goal since his £125million ($143m) move in the summer is a bonus, as is maybe Florian Wirtz’s best game in a Liverpool shirt — but arguably more significant is that it took place without Mohamed Salah in the team.

It was a weekend for big selection decisions that paid off: Eddie Howe did what many Newcastle fans have been demanding for weeks and dropped Nick Pope, while also picking Anthony Elanga up front, and was rewarded with a 4-1 win. Likewise, Salah was left out of a Premier League starting XI for which he was fit and available for the first time since April 2024. He didn’t come off the bench either, making it the first time he has played no part in a league game for which he was fit and available since June 2020.

Did Liverpool win the game because they dropped Salah? Maybe, maybe not. Their performance was much improved, but their team remains imbalanced, and it’s tough to attribute the victory to any one decision.

This doesn’t mean that Salah should be left out and all of their problems will be solved, but what it does mean is that by taking this tough decision, Arne Slot has ensured that Salah can just be regarded as another player now. He is a sacred cow no longer. Maybe he’s in the team, maybe he’s not, just like Hugo Ekitike or Cody Gakpo or Isak. That frees Slot to make decisions based on the needs of each game, rather than being dictated by a player’s reputation or the disparity between how good he used to be versus how good he appears to be now.

Has Thomas Frank picked an avoidable fight with his own fans?

On the one hand, it’s nice to see a manager stick up for a player who has seemingly been singled out for criticism. When players get abused, it’s the manager’s job to help pick them up,

On the other, you wonder how wise it is for that manager to seemingly pick a fight with his club’s fans, when so many of them are unhappy not so much with that individual player, but with the manager himself.

After goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s embarrassing mistake that handed Harry Wilson the chance to score Fulham’s second goal in their 2-1 win against Tottenham on Saturday, a significant proportion of the home fans specifically booed the goalkeeper. And Frank wasn’t happy.

“I didn’t like how the fans reacted to that,” Frank said. “They booed at him straight after and also three or four times when he was on the ball. That is unacceptable. They can’t be true Tottenham fans.

“Booing after (the game), fair. No problem. But when we are playing, we need to be together. If we turn it around, we need to do it together. That is hugely important.”

The immediate frustration with Vicario will be fleeting. The bigger problem is results, and Frank’s are terrible at the moment, particularly at home: they have played seven games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season and won just one. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers, already well on their way to a fairly ignominious relegation, have a worse record on their own patch. It’s a hangover from last season: since March, Tottenham have earned 10 points at home.

So you can see why the fans are annoyed. Yes, they were irritated at Vicario’s blunder and perhaps didn’t express that constructively, but in reality, that was a funnel through which they were expressing their broader dissatisfaction.

At best, you could say that Frank misread the mood from a place of good intention. But more likely is that he has picked an avoidable fight with a group of fans who, in some cases, are even pining for Ange Postecoglou. And that sort of thing rarely ends well.

Coming up…

There are so many problems and so many shortcomings with Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur that you could spend all day analysing the things that went wrong against Fulham on Saturday, and have been going wrong for much of this season.

But at the heart of it is one glaringly simple and obvious fact: their home form is unsustainably bad.

It is not sustainable to be averaging less than one point per game at home, a record better only in this season’s Premier League than Wolverhampton Wanderers. This is not a problem Frank created — Spurs were dismal at home in the second half of last season — but it is a problem that Frank has not been able to fix. It is barely even a truism to say that if you lose most of your home games, you are in deep trouble.

It is not sustainable to create so little in front of your own fans, to give them so little to cheer and believe in, that their confidence in the new era erodes from game to game. This was not as bad as the Bournemouth and Chelsea home defeats. Both of those two games were abysmal, and this was merely very bad. Perhaps this was closer to the Aston Villa defeat or the 1-1 draw with Wolves. But the fact that Spurs’ home record this season already contains so many flavours of misery tells a story of its own.

It is not sustainable for Spurs to be taking almost three-quarters of their points (13 out of 18) away from home, meaning that only their die-hard away support have got to experience this team’s better moments. If you have a season ticket here and do not travel away, you will have still only seen one league win under Frank, against Burnley on the opening weekend. That was more than three months ago.

And it is not sustainable for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to be as toxic as it was on Saturday evening, where the home fans were booing Guglielmo Vicario after a mistake that led to Fulham’s second goal. This was the first time the home crowd had turned on a Tottenham player since Davinson Sanchez almost three years ago, and Thomas Frank said afterwards that it was “unacceptable” to boo a player during the course of a game, and that they could not be “true Tottenham fans”.

The sight of Pedro Porro storming off at the end with a face like thunder was a reminder of how much the players must hurt, too, from defeats like this. But Frank is meant to be here in part to rebuild a sense of culture, of unity around shared goals. And nothing could be more corrosive to that than nights like this one, when the fans are openly mocking their goalkeeper during the course of the game after one bad error.

But as keen as Frank was to defend Vicario, the reality is that his booing by the crowd was not an incident that can be understood in isolation. It is better understood as an eruption of the frustration that has been simmering here for some time. Because this home record is not just a Thomas Frank problem. Go back over Spurs’ last 22 home league games — a run dating back to the first half of last season — and they have only taken 17 points from a possible 66. Since they beat Aston Villa last November, the only league wins here have been against Manchester United, Southampton and Burnley. Fans are fed up with paying so much money to see their team play so badly.

There has been plenty of debate about the atmosphere and how best to improve it on matchdays. But the answer is simpler than you might think. The best method to generate a good atmosphere at a football match is to play well. Nothing else can match that. The 4-0 win against Copenhagen on November 4 is a case in point.

So the solution to all this has to come from the team, and ultimately from Frank himself. Nothing that the manager or the players say between now and next Saturday, when Brentford come to Tottenham, will matter half as much as how they play. And even if they get a result in Newcastle on Tuesday night — and that does not feel likely right now — they will need to give their base something to cheer too.

The real problem for Frank is how many fans feel the team is getting worse rather than better. Everyone accepts he has taken a hard job at a difficult time, that the Spurs squad is patchy even when the best players are all fit, which they have not been this year. But people still want to see an upward trend, and even if they do not see that, they want a sense of what the destination is meant to look like. And this is not just a theoretical point; part of the reason why fans were so patient with Mauricio Pochettino when he started slowly at Spurs 11 years ago is because the ideal end point of his football was so clear from day one.

And yet the two very worst games of Frank’s tenure at Spurs — Chelsea and Arsenal — were not in August but in November. These are still the two lowest team xG totals, 0.1 and 0.07, respectively, in the league this season. Frank talks about “adding layers” but none of those layers feel solid. Yes, they were better in the first half at PSG in midweek, pressing high and creating chances, but this game was a leap in the wrong direction. And even the layers that ought to be permanent — not least defensive stability — look increasingly shaky now. Fulham could easily have won this game by more than they did.

None of which means that Frank is doomed or that he cannot turn this around. He is a popular figure at the club, and there is patience for his long-term project. But there are only so many times you can get booed off at home before you lose your standing with people. The credit with the fans that Frank started with has now reduced to zero. He will have to earn it back himself.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered yet another home defeat as they lost against Fulham on Saturday night.

After three minutes, Samuel Chukwueze burst down the left and played a low cross into the box. The ball made its way to right-back Kenny Tete, whose strike hit Destiny Udogie and flew into the Tottenham goal.

Fulham doubled their lead just two minutes later. Guglielmo Vicario, out of his goal, played a dreadful clearance straight into the path of Josh King, who laid it off to Harry Wilson to curl into an empty net.

Spurs improved in the second half, and Mohammed Kudus dragged Spurs back into the game. Lucas Bergvall clipped a pass over the Fulham defence before the Ghanaian hit an excellent half-volley past Bern Leno. Spurs, however, were unable to score a second, making it four games without a win.

Here, The Athletic’s Jay Harris breaks down a defeat that leaves Spurs in 10th place in the Premier League.

Why did Tottenham fans boo their own goalkeeper?

Tottenham’s supporters are fed up with their awful home form, and right now, it does not take much for them to voice their frustration. However, it felt counterintuitive and harsh that they constantly booed Vicario after his mistake which led to Wilson’s goal.

You could hear it straight away when the ball was passed back to the 29-year-old from kick-off, but it did not stop there.

A few minutes later, Vicario rushed out of his area again, and the crowd ironically cheered when he smashed the ball into the stands. It brought to mind the uncomfortable way Spurs fans used to treat Davinson Sanchez. It was a horrific error from Vicario, but they should have backed him — and Sanchez in the past — to make up for it.

Vicario is a member of the squad’s leadership group and will often face the media after Spurs lose games. He apologised to the supporters after last weekend’s defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby. He shows far more accountability for his actions than captain Cristian Romero as well as Micky van de Ven, who wore the armband against Fulham. When Van de Ven and Djed Spence walked straight down the tunnel after the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, Vicario clapped the fans with Bergvall.

Frank said after the defeat to Chelsea that he understood why fans booed after the game, but they should always back the team during it because they can give them an extra push to score a goal. He was completely right, but they ignored him.

All of this underlines how disconnected the fans feel from the team at the moment.

Can Frank take control?

Spurs have lost three games in seven days since they returned from the November international break.

Expectations were low before Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, but they needed three points against Fulham. The way they were smothered in the opening 15 minutes is hugely concerning.

One of Frank’s biggest strengths during his time with Brentford was his tactical flexibility, but it feels like a weakness now. He came up with bespoke plans for opponents, but it is much harder to replicate that with Spurs because they play multiple matches a week and barely have time to train. He keeps changing systems with Spurs, but has not worked out his strongest starting XI yet.

Spurs are awful at home. They have won three games out of their last 21 in the league. And things do not get any easier: they travel to St James’ Park on Tuesday to face Newcastle United, and then Frank has an awkward reunion with his former employers Brentford.

It feels like there are so many issues to address. The £60million ($79.5m) summer signing Xavi Simons rarely starts, goals from set pieces have dried up, and their defence, which looked solid at the beginning of the season, has fallen to pieces.

Pedro Porro looked furious at full time when he stormed down the tunnel and whipped his shirt off. Frank needs to grasp control of this situation as soon as possible.

A poor start costs Spurs again

Fulham pummelled Spurs in the opening 15 minutes. Thomas Frank used the same 4-4-2 formation which showed flashes of promise in Wednesday’s 5-3 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, but they were completely overrun.

Frank likes to use a man-marking system, and Fulham took advantage. Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven were being dragged high up the pitch and out of position by Josh King and Raul Jimenez, which left huge pockets of space behind them.

Fulham’s first goal came from Danso’s header being intercepted in the centre circle. One simple pass released Samuel Chukwueze down the left wing, who teed up Kenny Tete. Minutes later, Harry Wilson’s effort came from an awful mistake by Vicario.

They were lucky it did not get any worse. Chukwueze hit the post with a shot from the edge of the box, and Van de Ven made an incredible tackle to prevent him from scoring after he skipped past Pedro Porro and Vicario.

This was a game Spurs desperately needed to win and, not for the first time this season, a slow start proved their undoing.

What did Frank say?

He told Sky Sports: “When you’re down 2-0 after six minutes, there is a mountain to climb. When you’re in a bad spell, everything seems to go against you as well — the first was a deflected shot, the second is a mistake from Vic [Guglielmo Vicario].

“I didn’t like that our fans booed at him straight after and a few times after that. They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you’re on the pitch and we do everything we can to perform.

“I’m fine with them booing after the match, no problem, but not during. That is unacceptable in my opinion.”

What next for Spurs?

Tottenham may have put in a more positive display against PSG than against Arsenal on Sunday, but they came away from Paris defeated in an eight-goal thriller despite twice taking the lead.

Richarlison headed in during the first half after a great team move from Spurs before an incredible strike from Vitinha just before half-time drew the hosts level.

Randal Kolo Muani, playing against his parent club, put Spurs back in front before Vitinha again drew the teams level with another lovely finish. Two poor goals to concede followed, though, as the early promise from Spurs evaporated. Kolo Muani made it 4-3 before Vitinha completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after a handball. PSG then had Lucas Hernandez sent off in stoppage time.

After the derby defeat on Sunday, this performance against the Champions League holders brought some positivity but Frank and supporters will still be concerned by the manner in which they conceded.

Spurs now have eight points from five Champions League league-phase games, with PSG on 12 points.

Jack Pitt-Brooke and Elias Burke break down the talking points from the game in Paris.

What were the positives for Frank?

This was Spurs’ second defeat in four days, and they conceded even more goals tonight (five) than they did on Sunday (four).

At points, they looked casual and shambolic at the back, making mistakes that will always be punished by the reigning European champions. Defending like this is not remotely sustainable. And yet despite all of that, there were far more positives to take from this game than there were on Sunday.

Frank proved he can get the team to press high in a concerted way, even against a good opponent, as they did for much of the first half. Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall provided energy and purpose in midfield, two things that Tottenham have lacked this year. The front pair worked well and caused PSG problems.

The challenge will be to take the good bits of tonight into Saturday’s game with Fulham, but none of the bad bits.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

How did Vitinha score that?

PSG were firmly second-best for much of the first half, as Tottenham's intense press stifled their attempts to build out from the back. But world-class players influence matches even when things aren’t going well, and that’s what Vitinha did brilliantly on the stroke of half-time.

Quentin Ndjantou, making his first Champions League start, took advantage of Spurs being slow to react to the possibility of a short corner, receiving a pass near the top-right corner of the Spurs area.

The 18-year-old then slid the ball towards Vitinha, who was unmarked at the top of the semi-circle on the edge of the box.

Then, with the ball travelling across his body, the Portugal international approached the ball face-on and struck a powerful effort which cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and into the bottom-right corner of Guglielmo Vicario’s goal, putting the home side back on level terms at 1-1.

To approach a moving ball face on and swipe across it, with limited backlift, is a technique of the very highest order. Minutes away from going into half-time behind in consecutive Champions League matches, Vitinha produced a moment of magic.

He then went on to add a second and completed his first senior hat-trick from the penalty spot.

Elias Burke

How did the Richarlison and Kolo Muani combo work?

Centre forward has been a problem position for Tottenham this season. Dominic Solanke has still not started a game all season, after having surgery on an ankle injury.

Richarlison has not convinced, working hard but often looking sluggish and imprecise. Kolo Muani took time to get fit and has yet to score in the Premier League. But Frank decided to start them both together, for only the second time, and it worked well.

Both men worked hard, trying to press PSG high up and stop their possession game. And they combined well for Spurs' first two goals. First, Kolo Muani headed Archie Gray's cross at the far post, setting up Richarlison to nod in. And then at the start of the second half, Richarlison kept alive Pedro Porro's corner at the far post, Gray competed for the ball and Kolo Muani volleyed in. One goal each, and a good night's work for Spurs' big man/big man tandem act up front.

And then, when the game looked dead, Kolo Muani drove through the PSG defence to bag his second of the night. Three goals shared between the two strikers, and a good night of work.

Jack Pitt-Brooke

What did this tell us about PSG?

It was far from vintage for Luis Enrique’s side, but after the 2-1 defeat at home to Bayern Munich last time out, it’s a positive step towards automatic qualification for the knockout stages.

PSG were better in the second period, but did not reach their sweeping and brilliant best. Granted, Enrique is without Desire Doue, who won player of the match in last year’s Champions League final, and started the match with Ndjantou leading the line, who is yet to score his first career goal. If not for sloppy defending and build-up play from Spurs (as well as Vitinha’s excellent hat-trick), PSG loanee Kolo Muani may have stolen the headlines at the Parc des Princes, bagging a brace and an assist against his parent club. Fortunately for the hosts, however, Spurs gifted them at least two of their five.

With their fourth win from five games, PSG are in the top three and among the heavy favourites to reach the Puskas Stadium in Budapest for the final in May. Luis Enrique will be under no illusions that the team must improve before then, and there are a number of stars sidelined with injuries, but if the league phase is worth nothing more than ensuring you qualify for the knockout stages, PSG are well on their way.

Elias Burke

What did Frank say?

Speaking to TNT after the game, Thomas Frank said: "I am very pleased with the performance. Today was much more the identity of the team, the bravery and aggressiveness of the team. There were lots of positives, the two strikers scoring three goals between them, the whole team performed really well. The performance was to get something out of the game but then you need to have the margins with you but we can't concede some of the goals we did.

"Of course it will always be concerning when we concede four and five but these (PSG and Arsenal) were two completely different games. This was more of what I want. Today we competed. Today was a team with soul and character and you need that."

He added that he felt Vitinha "is the best midfielder in the world. He will be the next Ballon d'Or winner".

Speaking about the performance from Kolo Muani, Frank said: "It can definitely be a turning point but the two goals will give him confidence going forward. He has struggled a bit with confidence but now he is looking better and better."

What next for Spurs?

Tottenham Hotspur were issued an apology from WSL Football after TikTok influencer GK Barry made an anti-Spurs comment during the Women’s League Cup draw.

The apology came after a chaotic quarter-final and semi-final draw for the Subway League Cup on Tuesday, which also featured Barry making a number of innuendos and mistakenly placing a ball back into the bag.

The draw for the Subway League Cup was hosted by influencer Barry and her partner Ella Rutherford, who plays for Portsmouth. The draw was streamed live on TikTok, with Barry responsible for drawing the balls and Rutherford providing context.

However, the draw’s conduct was criticised by both fans and clubs. Barry opened the draw with a crude remark. She then smacked the bag holding the draw balls against her backside, adding: “Give it a shake, a spank for luck.”

Later, Barry pulled a ball out of the bag, before placing it back into the bag. She then pulled the ball back out — revealing Tottenham’s number on it — and asking on camera whether she could do so, before adding: “I’ve done it now, it’s too late. Oh, I picked up the same ball.”

Sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated an adjudicator was present at the draw and confirmed that it was the same ball pulled out of the bag. Otherwise, a redraw would have been required.

Afterwards, Barry asked: “What do we think of Tottenham?” to her partner — a reference to an anti-Spurs chant popularised by Arsenal fans.

According to sources, Tottenham have since received an apology from WSL Football regarding the comment, emphasising it was not appropriate.

Due to being streamed live on TikTok, there is no official replay of the draw on the WSL’s official social channels, though fans have recorded clips.

Other clubs were also the subject of jokes during the draw. Barry asked how good certain teams were while also asking what colour kits are worn by Liverpool and Chelsea. The draw ended with Barry making another innuendo as she referenced the competition’s sponsor Subway.

When fans complained about the difficulty in following the draw and requesting graphics on screen for guidance, Barry joked that she required a larger budget.

The thinking behind recruiting Barry, who boasts over four million followers on TikTok, for the draw was engagement with a new and younger audience.

League Cup holders Chelsea will travel to Liverpool for the quarter-finals. WSL leaders Manchester City will travel to West Ham United, while Manchester United will host Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal will host Crystal Palace, who are the only WSL 2 representatives to make it to the quarter-final stage.

The winners of Liverpool versus Chelsea will face the winners of City and West Ham, while the winners of Manchester United versus Tottenham will face the winners of Arsenal versus Palace.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Mauricio Taricco has said he will resign as assistant coach of South Korean champion Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after being handed a five-match ban for allegedly making a racist gesture during a K League game.

Taricco, 52, was sent off by referee Kim Woo-seong during the match against Daejeon Hana on November 8 for vehemently protesting against a penalty decision. During a confrontation with the official, Taricco placed his index fingers next to his eyes, in a gesture interpreted as racist and reported to the league’s disciplinary committee.

On November 19, the committee banned Taricco for five games and fined him 20 million won ($13,646).

The Argentine, who is assistant to Jeonbuk head coach Gus Poyet, denied he was being racist, and insisted he was asking the referee if he had seen the incident.

As part of a statement on the Jeonbuk website, Taricco said: “I have worked with many people in many countries and have lived and socialised with them without any problems related to their culture or race, and I have considered this a blessing.

“However, I have now been branded a racist by ‘self-proclaimed’ authorities due to a single misunderstanding where the context, cultural expressions, and meanings of all situations I continuously explained were ignored.

“My life, regardless of nationality and race, must continue in a place where there is safety, respect, peace, and equality before the law as a football person, so with a heavy heart, I have decided to leave this place after the end of this season.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the club and players with whom I could share success and history, and I am truly grateful to the fans who have given me unwavering support. I will not forget you.”

Jeonbuk, who clinched a 10th K League title in October with five games to spare, conclude their season with the Korean Cup final against Gwangju on December 6.

The club said it had concluded, after a “comprehensive and objective” review, that “it would be unreasonable to view (Taricco’s behaviour) as an intention of racial discrimination”, and planned to appeal the disciplinary committee’s decision.

“The club expects a more objective and balanced judgment to be made through the appeal process and will do its best until the end so that Coach Tano (Taricco) can quickly get out of this dishonorable situation and his memory of the K League and Korean football does not remain as a bitter pain,” read a Jeonbuk statement.

According to Reuters, a K League statement confirming Taricco’s ban last week, read: “Coach Taricco’s actions were identical to the widely known ‘slant-eye’ derogatory gesture against Asians and sufficiently inflicted feelings of racial insult on the recipient.”

Taricco spent four seasons with Ipswich Town before moving to Spurs in 1998, where he spent a further four years and played alongside Poyet.

The defender finished his playing career with Brighton & Hove Albion before going into coaching.

Arsenal went into the north London derby on Sunday without their first three options up front.

Viktor Gyokeres was ruled out, joining Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus — both of whom have yet to play this season — in the treatment room. The only solution was for Mikel Merino to reprise his role as Arsenal’s effective No 9. Incidentally, Arsenal were also without their biggest threat at set pieces, Gabriel.

Curiously, amid all these problems, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank decided the best course of action was to beef up his defence with the addition of an extra centre-back, Kevin Danso, moving to a back five for the first time in the Premier League. This felt like an unnecessarily negative move, and prompted a simple question: who would all these centre-backs actually be picking up?

Well, for long periods of the game, the answer was… no one.

In this respect, it feels like Arsenal have learned their lessons from a 1-1 draw at Manchester United last season. That was another occasion when Arsenal fielded Merino as their highest player. The problem on that day, though, was that Merino played as a ‘proper’ No 9, high up against three centre-backs who were comfortable battling against him. He surely needed to play deeper, as a false nine, to drag opponents out of position.

And, sure enough, whereas Merino was theoretically leading the line against Tottenham, really, he was dropping off to become an extra midfielder.

At times, the situation felt unusual. Here are two Tottenham attackers primarily concerned with Arsenal’s two holding midfielders, and then Tottenham’s defensive midfielders primarily concerned with Merino and Eberechi Eze, Arsenal’s front two. Spurs’ defenders had no one to mark.

And while Merino didn’t score, he played his role perfectly, free to drop deep and receive the ball.

He spent most of the first half moving towards the right flank, allowing Arsenal to play forward passes and for him to dribble up the pitch. OK, the consequence is that Arsenal didn’t offer any permanent penalty-box threat, but this helped them put constant pressure on Tottenham, who barely got out of their own half.

A couple of minutes after that incident, Arsenal did something similar, and Micky van de Ven clattered into the back of Merino.

A small incident, but one that showed Tottenham’s defenders were being tested in a positional sense.

And while Merino was the most advanced player, really, he was just a decoy. He occupied defenders and dragged them up, but the movement in behind came from elsewhere. In fact, it came from everywhere.

Arsenal’s first chance came when midfielder Declan Rice raced in behind onto an Eze chip.

A few minutes later, it was holding midfielder Martin Zubimendi suddenly making a burst into the channel, with Danso tempted forward to close down left-back Riccardo Calafiori. The pass from Leandro Trossard didn’t come.

Next up, it was the full-backs. With Merino and Eze occupying Van de Ven and Cristian Romero, and Destiny Udogie watching Bukayo Saka on the outside, Jurrien Timber makes a sudden burst in an attempt to reach a Zubimendi chip over the defence. Udogie, in fairness, covers well.

This time, when Zubimendi was on the ball, Merino and Eze were between the lines. Calafiori tried a similar run, almost becoming Arsenal’s centre-forward despite starting from left-back. Zubimendi played a simple square ball instead. But the constant runs in behind were coming from everywhere.

Next up, it’s the wide players running in behind.

Spurs’ back three again have no one to mark, and Zubimendi drives forward on the ball, which slightly commits Van de Ven towards him. That opens up space for Saka to run into — again, Zubimendi could have been more positive here.

And then, finally, the goal comes from a run in behind and a chip over the top. And this is the perfect example because the man receiving the ball in the centre of the pitch, completely unmarked, is Merino.

He’s not a striker, he’s a false nine. His ball in behind is weighted perfectly, and Trossard was able to bring the ball down and, via a deflection, find the bottom corner.

After that, of course, it was the Eze show — finding space in front of the Tottenham defence to crash home a brilliant hat-trick with three goals struck from a similar position.

But the key was that opening goal; the longer Tottenham held out, the more Arsenal would become frustrated and start lobbing crosses into the box. But Arsenal had a game plan, involving Merino, and stuck to it.

“I think he was incredible again, we are asking him to do a lot of things to play as a No 9, and do the things that a No 9 has to do,” said Arteta. “But he is such an intelligent player, and his desire to contribute and make others better is so big.”

But it was surely about more than acting as a No 9. Merino’s key contribution was playing deeper than expected, leaving Spurs’ defenders with no one to mark, and finding space between the lines to deliver a perfect chipped assist for the opener.

Here, he was as much a midfielder as a striker, with the goalscoring threat coming from a rotating cast of others.

The pressure is mounting on Thomas Frank after Tottenham Hotspur suffered a painful 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. It was a miserable performance which prompted Frank and Guglielmo Vicario to apologise to the fans for a lack of “fight”.

The fact that Spurs’ chief tormentor was Eberechi Eze, the player they came close to signing in the summer, only for him to rejoin his boyhood club, just made the result sting that little bit more.

Spurs are somehow only three points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, but they have taken four points from their last five league games. Here, The Athletic breaks down what is going wrong.

Defensive setup

How do you concede four goals after starting with a back five?

Frank’s formation was designed to frustrate Arsenal, and it is the latest version of a tactic he used successfully during his time with Brentford, recording memorable victories over Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. It is a riskier system to deploy when you are in charge of Spurs because the fans demand entertaining, attacking football.

This pragmatic approach worked for Spurs against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup and in August’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City. Crucially, they took the lead in both of those games, but their masterplan was ruined against Arsenal when Leandro Trossard scored first.

“We tried to come here and be aggressive and press high and in spells go after them,” Frank said in his post-match press conference. “We didn’t succeed with that. We didn’t manage to get near enough to them in the situations we could. It means we got pushed back and got a little too passive.”

Frank was asked multiple times if the system was to blame, but he rejected that theory.

“I’ve seen lots of teams, including my own team, playing also 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, being very aggressive, positive, forward-thinking,” he said. “That was not the case today. So I don’t think it’s about the system.”

It is hard to agree with Frank, though, because it felt like the formation encouraged Arsenal to take the initiative. Even allowing for Arsenal’s form this season, he showed them far too much respect.

Lack of invention

Frank is trying to make Spurs defensively solid before he turns them into a slick, possession-dominant side, but this was the third league game in a row where they struggled up front. They were awful against Chelsea, while the dramatic climax to their 2-2 draw with Manchester United made a lot of people forget about their struggles in the first 83 minutes.

Did Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur need to play ahead of three centre-backs? If so, how were Spurs supposed to progress the ball in central areas? Arsenal were missing their captain, Martin Odegaard, first-choice striker Viktor Gyokeres, and defensive leader Gabriel. Piero Hincapie was making his first start in the Premier League after joining on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, but Spurs did not test him at all.

They registered a ghastly xG (expected goals), which measures the quality of the chances they create, of 0.05 in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea. They managed to increase that figure to 0.07 against the league leaders. They are the two lowest xG totals any team has registered in the top flight this season.

Spurs had no shots at all in the first half. By full time, Arsenal’s tally of four goals matched Spurs’ touches in the box. Richarlison’s spectacular lob made the scoreline less embarrassing, but it was a freak occurrence that capitalised on mistakes from Declan Rice and David Raya. Spurs should be competing with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal at the top of the table instead of rolling over against them.

Frank abandoned his 5-4-1 formation at half-time by bringing on Xavi Simons for Kevin Danso, but less than a minute later, Eze scored again. Simons did look dangerous and there were a couple of occasions where he powerfully drove forward, including one occasion where he earned Declan Rice a booking.

Simons has been inconsistent since he joined Spurs from RB Leipzig in August, which is understandable as he adapts to a new competition. The Netherlands international needs to be trusted because he offers that spark of magic this team needs and draws defenders towards him to create space for others.

Injuries

The absence of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke is hurting.

Solanke is an intelligent striker who is capable of dropping deep to link up play or sprint in behind opposition defences. Maddison and Kulusevski are both exceptional dribblers who possess an impressive passing range. Maddison will probably miss the entire season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but there is hope that Solanke and Kulusevski could return soon. They are experienced players who would instantly offer more quality in attack.

There is too much pressure on Mohammed Kudus to create chances at the moment. Wilson Odobert is showing flashes of potential, but his first season in north London was wrecked by hamstring surgery, and he is still finding his feet at this level.

Is it fair to judge Frank when so many of his key players are unavailable?

Squad building

Spurs prioritised signing players with Premier League experience in the transfer window, but ended up with Xavi Simons after failing to sign Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White.

In Frank’s defence, it is not his fault that Spurs’ then chairman Daniel Levy lacked any urgency in his negotiations with Crystal Palace’s Steve Parish. They signed Mathys Tel on a permanent basis after an underwhelming six-month loan spell, and he was then left out of their Champions League squad. Kota Takai has not played a single minute due to a foot injury.

After finishing 17th under Ange Postecoglou but qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League, Spurs needed quality reinforcements. Simons should flourish with more game time, but it feels like spending €35m (£30.8m) on Tel was a bad decision. Randal Kolo Muani’s loan spell has been disrupted by a dead leg and a fractured jaw.

Frank deserves criticism for this team’s underwhelming performances, but Levy, chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, and co-sporting directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici should face questions about whether they equipped Frank with a good enough squad.

October and November were always going to be challenging with fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa. After Spurs face PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday, their next four league games are Fulham, Newcastle United, Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

They should offer Frank an opportunity to regain some momentum. If they do not, even more pointed questions will be asked.

Arsenal stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League table to six points by thrashing rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in the north London derby on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.

The first half was conducted almost entirely as an attack versus defence experiment. Spurs boss Thomas Frank went with a back five and challenged Arsenal to break his side down — something they nearly did early on when an Eberechi Eze scoop to Declan Rice was well saved by Guglielmo Vicario. The visitors’ tactics weren’t pretty but did frustrate Arsenal for much of the opening period.

Such a defensive approach only looks wise if it works, though — and two well-constructed goals, from Leandro Trossard on 36 minutes and Eze five minutes later, put the hosts in the driving seat.

And within a minute of the second half starting, Arsenal were three up — Eze again, with a lovely left-footed finish. The scoring hadn’t finished there, either. Richarlison reduced the deficit with a sensational long-range goal that caught David Raya way off his line but this was Eze’s day, and he completed an excellent hat-trick on 76 minutes to cap off a memorable day for both him and his new team.

Art de Roché, Jay Harris and Dan Sheldon break down the key moments from the game.

A seismic weekend in the title race?

As rounds of Premier League matches go, this one could not have gone better for Arsenal.

With Manchester City and Liverpool both losing on Saturday, it created a significant opportunity for Arteta’s side to extend their lead at the top of the table. They are now seven points clear of third-place Manchester City and 11 ahead of Liverpool, whose title defence seems over before anyone has even had the chance to open the first door on their Advent calendars.

And the fact they did this comfortably against Tottenham, who had not lost away from home in the league this season until losing at the Emirates on Sunday, will only make the weekend even sweeter.

Dan Sheldon

Where does this result leave Frank?

Tottenham enjoyed a relatively kind start to the season, which meant October and November was going to be the period when they were truly tested, with fixtures against Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal. The fact they have failed to win any of those games only underlines the scale of the job on new head coach Frank’s hands.

What will be truly frustrating for the fanbase is that they failed to produce a good performance against any of those opponents. They had an impressive 10-minute spell at home against United but threw it away by allowing Matthijs de Ligt to snatch a draw in added time. Spurs offered barely any attacking threat against Chelsea and were torn apart today by Arsenal.

They are struggling without injured attacking trio Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, but still possess enough quality in their squad to pose Arsenal more problems than they did.

This result leaves Frank in a challenging position.

Supporters are becoming restless because this team seems to have plateaued over the past month. Frank needs to be bolder and more adventurous with his tactics. Awkward questions will be asked over how he started with a back five here, yet Spurs conceded four goals.

He cannot be blamed for everything, though. The squad lacks quality in key areas, and that was painfully clear when Eze, who Tottenham tried to sign from Crystal Palace in the summer, scored a hat-trick. If Spurs had been more clinical in the transfer market, he would have been playing for them in this one, instead of embarrassing them.

The worst thing is that things do not get any easier, as they are away at holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday. Fans will be fearful that another chastening 90 minutes awaits.

Jay Harris

Just how good was Eze?

What an afternoon this was for Eze. Just like when he was presented on the pitch after signing from Palace in August, the 27-year-old’s face told the story after his second goal.

Arsenal’s No 10, a boyhood fan of the club, seemed in utter disbelief at what he had just done by putting them 3-0 up against their big local rivals, with two exceptional goals in his first north London derby as a player.

For his first, the close control on the edge of the box to create the opening is exactly what Arsenal have been looking to open games up for in recent years. The clinical strike off his left foot for his second was just indicative of someone who was in a flow state. Sitting down yet another Spurs defender before completing his hat-trick was the icing on the cake.

Eze is the first player to score a hat-trick in the north London derby since Alan Sunderland did it for Arsenal in 1978.

The backdrop of this game being the love triangle-like transfer saga that involved Eze and these two clubs in the summer will only make these goals sweeter.

While Spurs seemed to be in the driving seat, Eze’s last-minute phone call to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta showed just how much he wanted to rejoin the club — 14 years after they released him as a kid.

He has since spoken openly about regularly asking whether Arsenal were interested in him when links to other clubs were brought to his attention, most recently with veteran striker turned podcaster Adebayo Akinfenwa earlier this week. He also spoke to actor Idris Elba for Sky Sports in the build-up to this game, so there’s no doubt the spotlight was on him.

Spurs boss Frank had replied “Who?” when asked about Eze in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

It’s fair to say he won’t need any reminders now.

Art de Roché

Was Spurs’ first-half approach too meek?

Tottenham set up in a 3-4-3 system which was all about frustrating Arteta’s side. It was the same game plan Frank used against them with previous club Brentford. The problem is that you have to show more bravery when you are in charge of Tottenham and playing away to their fiercest rivals.

There have been a few occasions this season when Frank’s pragmatic tactics have worked — the best examples being the 2-0 victory at Manchester City in August and the preceding UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. But Spurs took the lead in both of those games, which forced their opponents to push up higher and allowed them to play on the counter.

Tottenham’s game plan worked for the first half an hour on Sunday but it was in tatters from the moment Trossard put Arsenal in front. They did not have the right blend of players on the pitch to be more expansive and take control of the game. Eze’s first goal, Arsenal’s second, hammered that point home.

Spurs did not have a single shot in the first half and only registered two touches in Arsenal’s penalty area. Frank abandoned the back three at half-time by bringing on forward Xavi Simons for centre-back Kevin Danso. That plan self-destructed less than a minute into the second half as Eze scored the third.

Richarlison’s spectacular lob might have made the scoreline look slightly better but it was a freak goal, as opposed to something which came from Spurs exerting dominance.

Frank desperately needs to find a way to make this team more confident in possession. They have produced three meek Premier League performances in a row against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Jay Harris

How did Arsenal break through Spurs’ back five?

With Viktor Gyokeres out through injury, Arsenal could not rely on anyone to repeatedly stretch Tottenham’s back five through energy alone.

But they found another way to break it down: the scoop.

In only the third minute, Eze played in Rice with a beautiful lofted ball over the top, which led to Vicario making a good stop to prevent Arsenal taking an early lead.

However, when you have as many players as comfortable on the ball — and in tight spaces — as Arsenal do, then it is only ever going to be a matter of time before they try that move again. So, when Mikel Merino received the ball in front of the Spurs penalty area, looked up and spotted Trossard’s run, there was only going to be one outcome.

The Spaniard played a perfectly-weighed pass over the defence into Trossard’s path, with the Belgian taking a touch and spinning his body before directing a shot into the bottom corner for the opening goal of the game.

Dan Sheldon

How did Piero Hincapie get on?

With Gabriel now out for the foreseeable future, the biggest selection dilemma for Arteta would have been how to replace the Brazilian in central defence. He had three options in Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera and opted for the most logical in Hincapie.

This was the 23-year-old Ecuador international’s first league start for Arsenal after signing from Bayer Leverkusen on loan late in the summer transfer window, but he stepped in without missing a beat.

The William Saliba/Gabriel partnership is defined by their differences, as the latter tends to be the more aggressive defender of the two. That was the case with Hincapie in his place, as Saliba’s new partner was extremely comfortable defending in higher areas of the pitch.

Early on, his interventions helped Arsenal pin Spurs into their half of the pitch, stopping the visitors gaining any momentum in the game. It was his battle with Mohammed Kudus that was particularly impressive, as he continuously disrupted the Spurs forward, negating any chances for him to carry Tottenham upfield.

That combative approach was vital to setting the tone for Arsenal, and gave them a solid platform before they scored their two first-half goals.

Art de Roché

What did Mikel Arteta say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What did Thomas Frank say?

The Tottenham manager was understandably upset at his side’s showing at the Emirates on Sunday. “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.

“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. No matter how painful it is to admit, they are definitely six years down the line and we are four months down the line but even with that I was still expecting much more from us today. Not that we could dominate over 90 minutes but that we could be as competitive as we were against Manchester City and PSG.”

Frank was also asked whether Tottenham’s lack of creativity this season (only three teams have a lower expected goals figure) was a concern. “It is concerning, of course. We are working very hard to try to make that better but sometimes it’s not only playing out and finding a nice pass but also in a game like this if you see some of the situations where they won it high, Arsenal, then there was a little bit more open space. We didn’t win it enough in those situations and then create from that.

“For me the creativity, I know it was very low, but it was not my biggest concern today.”

What next for Arsenal?

Wednesday, November 26: Bayern Munich (home), Champions League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

What next for Spurs?

The north London derby takes place on Sunday at the Emirates, with league leaders Arsenal hosting rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who went into the weekend in fifth.

Mikel Arteta’s side have lost just once this season, though drew their last league game away at Sunderland, while Thomas Frank has made a mixed start to his time in charge at Spurs. Both managers have serious injury issues to contend with this weekend after the international break brought little respite.

Here, Arsenal writer Art de Roche and his Tottenham counterpart Jack Pitt-Brooke look ahead to the game.

How confident will each team be going into this derby?

Art says: I’m fairly confident that Arsenal will come away as winners. Part of that comes from Arsenal winning five of the last six games between the sides and not losing against Spurs in three years — their last loss coming at the end of the 2021-22 season in a 3-0 away defeat.

Sunderland shocked Arsenal with two goals before the international break. Despite missing Gabriel for this match and beyond, their collective defensive solidity has been exceptional this season — particularly at home.

They have conceded just one goal at the Emirates all season, Erling Haaland’s strike in September. Cristhian Mosquera has stepped up when needed, but this may be a chance for Piero Hincapie to make a true introduction in place of Gabriel.

Jack says: Not especially. Tottenham have a historically dismal record in this fixture, not having won at the Emirates in the league since 2010. Better Spurs teams than this one have gone to Arsenal and come back with nothing.

While Spurs’ results this season have been pretty good, the performances have been unconvincing. Perhaps the only cause for optimism is that all of Spurs’ best league displays have all come away from home, when there is no onus on them to dominate possession, and their reactive game can flourish.

How damaging have injuries been this season?

Art says: Looking at the table, the assumption would be not so much, but that is more of a testament to Arsenal’s squad building. They rank fifth in the Premier League for injuries this season, while Spurs rank second.

In defence, midfield and attack, multiple players have stepped up to make the absences of William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres subplots as opposed to major narratives.

Even so, these injuries have still held Arsenal back in other ways. With Havertz and Jesus injured, Gyokeres was left to play more minutes than he may have expected, which resulted in him suffering a muscle injury. Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta hasn’t had a proper chance to try out different tactical setups.

Despite that, they are top of the league and players returning during the festive period could be just what is needed.

Jack says: Very bad. Tottenham’s best centre-forward, Dominic Solanke, has not started a game so far this season, restricted to a few substitute appearances in August before he had to have ankle surgery. Neither of their two best creative midfielders, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, have kicked a ball yet, both still recovering from knee operations in the summer.

This has made Frank’s job even harder. And his squad was not exactly brimming with world-class attacking talent, even with everyone fit.

Who is the opposition player you fear could really inflict damage in this game?

Art says: This may be dependent on who is actually fit. Frank gave positive fitness updates on Mohammed Kudus and Pape Mate Sarr, who could cause different types of problems for Arsenal.

Arsenal will need to make at least one change to the left side of their defence, and if Kudus is fit and firing, containing his dribbling could be a tough ask for someone coming in fresh. Sarr showed in pre-season that he can be a problem at unexpected moments, when Arsenal are in possession, so if he is fit, they will need to be alert at all times.

Jack says: Is it too obvious to say Declan Rice? Tottenham struggle to impose themselves on big games in the middle of the pitch and while Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha can form an effective shield, they will have to be at their absolute best to deal with the England midfielder. If he can take control of the game, and Tottenham get forced further and further back, then they will have a lot of defending to do, and may eventually wilt under the pressure.

Why do you think Arsenal have finished so far above Spurs over the past three seasons?

Art says: Consistency. It should not be forgotten that early on under Arteta, Arsenal were very streaky. When they were in a run of good or bad form, it usually ran for a few weeks before something drastic happened to change it.

In the last three years, there have been fewer fluctuations in form, with a blend of time and quality being the main reasons. That has enabled Arteta to nail down what he expects to see from his players each day, which is seen every matchday.

Tottenham simply haven’t had the same consistency.

Jack says: Tottenham finished ahead of Arsenal six years in a row, but in the last three seasons, the advantage has swung dramatically back the other way, Arsenal finishing ahead of Spurs by three huge margins.

They have found a clear identity, the perfect manager to deliver it, and, crucially, have backed him with money to sign top players. Meanwhile, Tottenham have never settled on an identity, jumping from one idea to another, and have never been able to shop at the top end of the market to sign the players that they need to improve the team.

What is your match prediction?

Art says: I’ll go 2-0 Arsenal. Even with the attacking injuries, I think Arsenal will have enough control of the game to fashion multiple scoring chances.

Bukayo Saka has been in strong scoring form for club and country and tends to show up in north London derbies, so he will remain a major threat. The winger’s six goal contributions against Spurs are the most he has against another top-six side, and he often scores a similar type of goal on the break in these games.

Elsewhere on the pitch, it will be interesting if the attack can truly click into gear or whether it will be another slow burn.