Daily Mail

Tottenham's summer was to a degree characterised by near misses. A near miss with Eberechi Eze, who chose Arsenal. A close call for Bryan Mbeumo, too. Spurs thought they had a deal on that one but he went to Manchester United.

And so to the Emirates on Sunday where a near miss would have been acceptable in the circumstances. Instead, in Thomas Frank’s first north London derby as Tottenham manager, his team were blown apart and within seconds of the final whistle the verdict was in.

‘Disgraceful,’ was the opinion of one long-standing observer with connections to the club.

‘Embarrassing,’ was another take on what had just unfolded.

And up in the stands, in the executive boxes where the great and the good of this storied rivalry met to eat and drink and watch the game, there was no getting away from it. Tottenham looked for all the world as though they had come to roll over and they did.

In one box was George Graham. He is 81 at the end of the week. He managed both clubs, of course. He would have recognised one of them if not the other. And that is one of Tottenham’s problems as they approach one of the most important fortnights in Frank’s early time as manager of the club. The identity of his Tottenham remains a mystery.

PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday had a painful ring to it already. Fulham at home in the Premier League on Saturday night is then followed by a midweek trip to Newcastle and a weekend fixture back on their own pitch against Brentford, the club with whom Frank made his name and indeed his reputation.

That reputation was one of a doer, an organiser and a leader. Frank, a Dane courted by both Chelsea and Manchester United in recent times, took hold of Brentford and made them credible, respected and formidable – especially at home. We knew what they were.

Further north at Tottenham, Frank’s task is to move to the next level and it is to be hoped that he succeeds. Given time he may well do so. He is bright and clever and tougher than he looks.

Nevertheless, Tottenham is not Brentford. It’s different. Different forces are at play. And when he walked into the interview room at the Emirates after Sunday’s 4-1 defeat, he looked a little bewildered, suddenly a small man in a very big room. That’s what bad results can do.

Asked what had gone wrong, he gulped and half smiled and wondered out loud where he should start. It was classic Frank. Self-deprecating and honest. But at the same time it didn’t go any way to hide the meekness of a performance that prompted goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to apologise for a lack of fight.

When the season started with a home win over Burnley and a victory away at Manchester City, there were those at Tottenham who rather patronisingly compared the style of play to Frank’s Brentford. Long-throws, set pieces and fast, direct counter attacks. Now, just three league wins and four defeats later, Spurs fans don’t even have that to cling to.

Tottenham at Arsenal were dreadful. Weak and submissive and seemingly without the will or method to get up the field. Frank’s decision to play five across the back spoke of a nervousness and a lack of genuine belief and that was how his team played. Arsenal’s final goal – Eze’s third of the day – began with a Tottenham throw-in deep inside their opponents’ half. With nobody willing or available to receive it, the ball ended up with the goalkeeper and – subsequently lost on the back of a hopeful punt up field – was in the back of his net soon after.

Asked about this, Frank didn’t deem it significant. He said it would only be a bad sign had the score been 0-0 or 0-1. The insinuation was that the game was already gone so it didn’t really matter.

But he’s wrong about that. At a big club like Spurs – eighth on the Forbes rich list now their new stadium is fully bedded in – all the details matter and at the moment Frank’s team are coming out on the wrong side of too many.

Against Chelsea at home, Tottenham managed only one shot on target and, in losing 1-0, finished the game with an XG (expected goals) of 0.05. Against Manchester United, they led 2-1 seven minutes into added time against ten men and conceded an equaliser to an unmarked player at a corner.

Away from home they have been a little better, adding wins at Everton, Leeds and West Ham to that early scalping of City at the Etihad.

But currently Tottenham are trending backwards with those fans not arguing that Frank is the wrong man preferring to ask questions once again of the club’s recruitment.

Injuries are hurting Spurs for sure. Centre forward Dominic Solanke is missing while so too is the club’s best player Dejan Kulusevski and the talented James Maddison. But what is to be made of summer signings such as Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus, three young forward players who cost £150m and have so far contributed three league goals between them? That’s the same number as central defender Micky van de Ven has scored on his own.

Simons and Tel are only 22 and 20 years of age. They are young players who may improve. But a Tottenham policy of buying young emerging talent – led by joint sporting directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici – has to pay off at some stage because Frank’s team need some oven-ready top-flight players right now.

Last season, as manager Ange Postecoglou struggled under a weight of a huge injury list, a previous batch of future stars – Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, Lucas Bergvall and Mikey Moore – came to the fore and did well in patches. Perhaps understandably, their impact has waned a little. Indeed 18-year-old Moore – a rare ray of hope from the Spurs academy – is currently on loan at Rangers.

Frank has already referenced Postecoglou’s 17th placed finish last season as a reason to feel some progress has been made and – with Spurs in mid-table - it should not be dismissed. Postecoglou’s brand of explosive chaos could not go on.

The challenge for Frank now is to prove he can bring an upgrade that sustains. There have been some moments of clarity, days when a plan appeared to be forming. A solid base, some counter-attack football. But there has been no consistency and that’s killing him.

At the moment it’s neither old school Brentford or classic Tottenham or anything much in between. On Sunday on a dark winter’s day at the Emirates, it was hard to know what it was and that’s a bit of a worry.

Former Tottenham star Mauricio Taricco has been handed a five-match ban for making a racist 'slanted-eye' gesture from the dugout while overseeing a K-League match in South Korea.

The Argentina star spent six years at the north London club between 1998 and 2004 and also enjoyed stints at Ipswich, West Ham, and Brighton during his time on English soil.

After going into management - which he first tried on the south coast alongside his playing career as an assistant in 2009 - Taricco has seen out assistant coaching spells at Sunderland, AEK Athens, and the Greek national team, among other sides, before landing at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Taricco has held his role since 2024, but found himself in hot water when he made the highly offensive gesture at the referee during their November 8 game against Daejeon Hana Citizen FC.

The 52-year-old became embroiled in an argument with the official over appealing for a penalty on behalf of his side during the clash, which Jeonbuk went on to win 3-1.

Taricco is said to have then yelled 'racist' at the referee in Spanish before performing the gesture.

Taricco was immediately sent off by the official.

After being charged by the K-League, Taricco claimed in a statement to their disciplinary committee that he had been gesturing that the referee had not seen a handball which he believed had been committed.

But as per the committee's ruling, Taricco's alleged intentions were beside the point.

'The disciplinary committee stated that 'the evaluation of a specific act should be based on the universal meaning of the act as expressed, rather than the perpetrator's stated intentions', the K-League said in a statement.

'Based on these criteria, 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 also received a fine totalling £10,336 (20,000,000 won).

Arsenal went six points clear at the top of the table and continued their home dominance in the north London derby with a 4-1 thrashing of a struggling Tottenham side at the Emirates on Sunday evening.

Former Spurs target - who was swiped under Thomas Frank's nose by Mikel Arteta - Eberechi Eze was the man of the hour as he scored the first hat-trick in a meeting between the two sides since 1978, but even without the stardust offered up by their summer signing, Arsenal looked in perpetually in control as Tottenham created little.

A shock consolation goal from Richarlison helped put the visitors on the scoresheet, but as the hosts burnished their title-winning credentials, Tottenham looked way off the mark.

Here, Daily Mail Sport's Football Editor IAN LADYMAN looks at four of the biggest talking points from an intriguing derby day.

Reality dawns on Frank

At least Thomas Frank now knows what it really means to be a Tottenham manager. It’s not acceptable to lose like this. Not at Arsenal, not without really ever trying to win.

Frank will argue that going toe to toe with the best team in the Premier League is asking for trouble and he may have a point.

The problem is that the way he went about this game was tantamount to surrender and that whiff of inferiority will follow him until he gets the chance to put right – if he last that long, of course.

The Dane is a bright guy. He knows how football works. He knows to organise a football team. Equally, he knows what perception is and here he looked for all the world as though he brought Tottenham across north London not to win but to try not to lose.

That’s okay if you are manager of Brentford, where every point you get against a big club is a mini-triumph, a strike against the head. It’s simply not good enough when you are in charge at Spurs, a club with aspirations of European credibility.

Frank’s 5-3-2 formation was a love letter to pragmatism. Stay in the game and then hope was the intention. But it was doomed from the start. How were Spurs supposed to get and keep the ball when they were always a man down in midfield? How were they were supposed to get any possession in the final third if their only out ball was a long pass up to Richarlison who would not be a target man even if he wore stilts?

The days of Ange Postecoglou’s daring and expansive football are gone and Tottenham fans should not yearn for them. They led this great football club all the way down to 17th place last season.

Equally Frank must find a way to satisfy both ends of football’s oldest equations if he is to survive at Spurs. They must be tighter than they were under his predecessor and they must be less chaotic. But they must have the courage to play some football too.

The first half was always likely to dictate how this game played out and by the midway point Spurs were 2-0 down, hadn’t had a shot or a corner and had mustered only two touches in the Arsenal penalty box. It spoke volumes.

Frank had come here looking for a tight contest and didn’t get one. As a result his club’s greatest rivals handed him a lesson he must learn quickly.

Palhinha is not the problem

Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha had hit back at Jamie Carragher’s assertion that he isn’t good enough for the Premier League by calling the Sky Sports pundit ‘embarrassing’. The truth of the matter is that the Portuguese holding player is the least of Tottenham’s problems.

Every team needs a dogged midfielder to tackle and read games and break up play. If they can get on the ball and pass and play as well then all the better.

And Palhinha - once of Fulham and then of Bayern Munich - is not the worst at that bit.

His most notable contribution here saw him dispossess Martin Zubimendi with a lunging tackle in the centre circle in the second half and that enabled Richarlison to beat David Raya from distance and at least give this game a bit of a competitive edge for a while.

Tottenham are missing ball players in midfield. Dejan Kulusevski is the best player at the club and can play centrally while James Maddison is also injured. They are both huge losses. Spurs will be better for their return but none of it will really matter if Frank doesn’t ask his players to be brave enough to get on the ball and play.

Richarlison will never be the answer

Richarlison took his chance instinctively well. It was a terrific bit of skill, given that Raya would have backpedalled and intercepted anything but the perfect shot. Nevertheless, Tottenham will not go where they want to go with the Brazilian playing up front.

Through his time at Watford and Everton and now at Spurs, a player with cumulative transfer fees of more than £100m has shown himself to be a forward of the occasional big moment rather than someone who can be relied upon consistently.

When he was first bought from Everton in the summer of 2022, it was thought he would play on one side of Harry Kane with Heung Min Son on the other. Here, with Spurs short of options, he was asked to play through the middle.

The 28-year-old is not robust enough or willing enough to do that job and away from home when possession is scarce, the lack of an out-ball will always hurt a team. Tottenham simply have too many forward players of which not enough is really known or proven.

Why, for example, did the Spurs recruitment team pay £55m for Mohammed Kudus instead of throwing money at West Ham to try and get Jarrod Bowen instead? Bowen would have been a perfect replacement for Son and the word is that he may well have come. Kudus, by comparison, looks like a frivolous decoration.

Arteta got his big call right

What a day for Eberechi Eze. A player who almost joined Spurs in the summer chose this day of all days to produce the performance of is life for the club he supported as a boy.

We should have known what was coming the moment he scooped a fabulous pass through to Declan Rice in just the third minute. That almost led to the first goal and pretty much everything the England player did after that was laced with quality.

But perhaps Mikel Arteta will be best pleased with a decision he saw born out at the other end of the field.

Injuries played a part in derailing last season’s title challenge and losing central defender Gabriel to a problem picked up on international duty asked Arteta a big question ahead of this game.

His decision to hand Piero Hincapie a first Premier League start was a big one. He could have asked Ben White to step in. But Arteta trusted the Ecuadorian – on loan from Bayer Leverkusen – and it paid off.

‘He has title winning experience in Germany,’ was Arteta’s pre-match rationale.

Squads, rather than teams, win titles and maybe, at the fourth time of asking, Arsenal maybe where they need to be in that regard.

Arsenal thumped Tottenham 4-1 in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners dominated the game from the start and broke the deadlock when Leandro Trossard scored after latching on to Mikel Merino's deft through ball.

Eberechi Eze, who was close to joining Spurs in the summer, doubled his side's lead minutes later with a smart finish before he added a second straight after half-time.

Tottenham hit back when Richarlison lobbed David Raya from just inside Arsenal's half, but Eze completed his hat-trick with another classy strike to send the home fans into dreamland.

The result left Mikel Arteta's side six points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge next weekend.

Daily Mail Sport's ISAAN KHAN was at the Emirates and he has rated both sets of players.

ARSENAL (4-3-3):

DAVID RAYA: 6

Spurs could barely muster a threatening attempt at goal before Richarlison’s wonder effort, which beat him from near the halfway line. Raya was in no man’s land.

JURRIEN TIMBER: 7

Caused plenty of havoc in final third. Was able to focus on the attacking elements.

WILLIAM SALIBA: 6.5

Didn’t have much to do deal with around the area but kept composed in terms of positioning.

PIERO HINCAPIE: 6.5

Slotted in confidently in place of the injured Gabriel. Kept looking to get play forward with floating long balls over the top.

RICCARDO CALAFIORI: 6.5

Unpredictable in his movement and occupied many different positions in the final third which kept the opposition on edge.

DECLAN RICE: 7.5

Very nearly put Arsenal ahead on three minutes with a sublime volley. Assisted Eberechi Eze’s first goal with a neat pass and completely overran Spurs.

MARTIN ZUBIMENDI: 7

Lynchpin of Arsenal’s midfield dominance. Pressed hard and kept wanting to get on the ball. Dropped into right back at times as cover.

EBERECHI EZE: 9

A reflection of why Arsenal bought this mercurial talent, striking a hat-trick to settle this match. Showed brilliant feet to get out of a tight area and strike his first past Vicario, before two calmly-slotted strikes in the second half.

BUKAYO SAKA: 7

Looked dangerous whenever he got on the ball, dribbling past players with ease at times. Lots of battling with Destiny Udogie. Had a free-kick on 33 minutes that was arrowing into the top corner but was parried away.

MIKEL MERINO: 7

Sublime assist over the top for Leandro Trossard’s goal. That piece of magic opened up the game for his side.

LEANDRO TROSSARD: 7.5

A constant threat between the lines and rewarded with a goal as his clever swivel and shot in the box deflected off a Spurs’ player’s leg to go in.

Manager –

MIKEL ARTETA: 7.5

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (5-4-1):

GUGLIELMO VICARIO: 5.5

Top save to deny Rice from close range on three minutes, but should have done better on Eze’s first strike which was very close to him. Good handling on aerial deliveries.

DJED SPENCE: 5.5

Run ragged at times by Trossard but also put in some crunching tackles. A difficult shift with the Gunners on top throughout.

KEVIN DANSO: 5.5

A tough time against an Arsenal attack who were rampant. Sacrificed for Xavi Simons at half-time.

CRISTIAN ROMERO: 5.5

Poor on Eze’s first goal. Should have got to the ball first as the forward went to strike it.

MICKY VAN DE VEN: 5.5

Was helped by having sheer numbers back behind the ball, but was stuck between many different tasks.

DESTINY UDOGIE: 6.5

Spurs’ best defender today. He kept getting stuck into tackles in an energetic performance but he committed a number of fouls and crossed the line at times, although Udogie never gave up.

MOHAMMED KUDUS: 5

An off day. Barely had any impact in the final third. Game went by him.

JOAO PALHINHA: 6.5

Was all over the pitch, putting in tackles and haring around. It was his tackle that set Richarlison up for his stunning goal.

RODRIGO BENTANCUR: 5.5

Out-skilled by Eze on his first goal. Kept chasing after the game, but was overwhelmed by the opposition.

WILSON ODOBERT: 5

Barely got on the ball or had any impact on play. Went missing.

RICHARLISON: 6

His side were camped back leaving the Brazilian retreating back to get touches on the ball. Scored a stunning goal near the halfway line to give his team scant hope.

Substitutes:

XAVI SIMONS: 5.5

PAPE MATAR SARR: 6

RANDAL KOLO MUANI: 6

Manager –

THOMAS FRANK: 5

Referee –

MICHAEL OLIVER: 6

Up in the north-east, Pep Guardiola was muttering angrily in the ear of Bruno Guimaraes on Saturday and getting in the face of a television cameraman as Manchester City fell to defeat against Newcastle United.

On Merseyside, Arne Slot, who must have felt as if he were untouchable last season, watched his Liverpool side humiliated by Nottingham Forest, heard fans calling for him to be sacked and pulled out of an appearance at an awards dinner on Sunday night.

At the North London derby, Mikel Arteta sailed on serenely. No angst here. No uncertainty. No missteps. No stumble. Just a fine hat-trick for Eberechi Eze, who Arsenal snatched from Spurs in the summer, and the sight of the Arsenal boss enveloped in a series of joyous hugs as each of his team’s four goals hit the back of the Tottenham net.

This was a big psychological hurdle that Arsenal cleared at The Emirates as their attempt to win their first league title for 22 years gathers pace. They took on their bitter rivals without Gabriel, Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres, the spine of their team, and they outclassed them.

If there was apprehension about how they might cope without Gabriel, in particular, the swashbuckling style of this victory, dispelled it. Even without three of their best players, they swatted Spurs aside. They are now six points clear of Chelsea at the top and seven points clear of City. Liverpool are so far back they are out of sight.

From start to finish, this was a humiliation for Tottenham. In fact, it started before kick-off. Arsenal’s fans raised a giant tifo behind one of the goals that accorded pride of place to Sol Campbell, the former Spurs captain who defected to Highbury, and became one of their famous Invincibles.

So it made it even sweeter for Arsenal fans that it was Eze who was the architect of the defeat, too, rifling in a trio of superb goals. It rubbed Spurs’ noses in it just that little bit more because they could have signed him from Crystal Palace if they had not dithered in the summer.

And Eze is one of their own. He was part of the Arsenal academy before the club released him when he was 13. He always harboured a dream of returning and this performance must have exceeded all those dreams. He seemed so happy he motioned putting his hand over his mouth to hide laughter. The level of his player has already stepped up a gear since his move.

Spurs were abject. The honeymoon period of their manager Thomas Frank is definitely over. They never looked close to being able to compete with their neighbours. They were, if anything, lucky to escape with a 4-1 defeat.

Their players had walked out on to the pitch for a pre-match stroll wearing dark suits and open-necked white shirts. There were uncomfortable shades of Liverpool at the 1996 FA Cup Final, which led to plenty of hilarity amid the Arsenal supporters.

The same lesson applied to Spurs as it did to that Liverpool team. If you are going to make a fashion statement before a big match, you better win it. Instead, they looked like men who had staggered straight out of the casino. They span the roulette wheel, they put it all on black but it landed on red.

Arsenal should have been ahead after two minutes. Saka drifted inside and played a short ball to Eberechi Eze who conjured a brilliant, audacious flick over the heads of the Arsenal defence and into the path of Declan Rice.

Rice met it sweetly on the volley but his shot was straight at Guglielmo Vicario, who saved well with his legs and the ball was scrambled out for a corner. On the touchline, Arteta stood with his head in his hands.

The pace was frantic and fierce. Van de Ven crunched through Eze right in front of the Arsenal bench. Richarlison upended Jurrien Timber soon afterwards. Arteta danced a jig of rage in his coaching area. Referee Michael Oliver urged calm.

The initial fury subsided into a series of blotchy skirmishes, leavened only by occasional moments of inspiration like Saka’s sublime nutmeg of Van de Ven that was rudely curtailed by Bentancur’s pull on Saka’s shirt. Saka bent the resulting free kick towards the top corner but Vicario was equal to it.

But then, nine minutes before half-time, Arsenal got the goal they deserved. Mikel Merino, who was in the side as a replacement goalscorer for the injured Viktor Gyokeres, turned provider instead and lifted a clever chip over the Spurs defence to meet the run of Trossard.

Trossard controlled the ball with his back to goal and then spun. Just as he got his shot away, Van de Ven made a desperate effort to block it. But he only succeeded in changing the shot’s direction and taking it past Vicario so that it trickled into the bottom corner.

Five minutes later, Arsenal were further ahead. Spurs failed to clear a cross from the right, Rice played a clever short pass to Eze and Eze sidestepped two challenges before forcing a venomous shot through Van de Ven’s legs and fizzing into the net.

It only took 36 seconds of the second half for Eze to make the game safe. He got the ball on the edge of the Spurs area, took a couple of steps to left and steered another technically assured finish past Vicario. This time, it was with his left foot. Spurs were reeling.

They clawed back a little hope with a sublime response 10 minutes later. Joao Palhinha dispossessed Martin Zubimendi with a clean tackle just inside the Arsenal half and Richarlison seized on it and, from 35 yards, floated a perfect chip over David Raya, who back-pedalled as fast as he could but was unable to regain his ground.

It was Spurs’ first shot on target and it spread caution in Arsenal’s ranks. Suddenly, where there had previously been anticipation of a rout, now there was concern that the visitors might mount an unlikely comeback. Arsenal’s expansive play dried up.

But it came back. Fourteen minutes from the end, Trossard wriggled free on the edge of the area and squared a ball to Eze. Eze let it ran and sat Destiny Udogie down on his backside. That game him time to measure his shot and he curled it beyond Vicario for his hat-trick.

Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Arsenal welcome Tottenham to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League, with Oliver Holt, Ian Ladyman and Isaan Khan reporting from the grounds.

The standout fixture after the international break sees Premier League leaders Arsenal take on arch-rivals Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

It's been 10 months since we last had a north London derby, which saw Arsenal claim the spoils with a 2-1 win.

That win continued the Gunners' dominance in this fixture's recent history - having won five of the last six and drawing the other.

Arsenal are going to be sweating over some injury concerns with Gabriel, Martin Odegaard, Victor Gyokeres all touch-and-go for the derby.

Spurs have their own lengthy list of doubts too with their number in the double digits.

But who makes Daily Mail Sport's combined XI this season in a 4-3-3 formation? Using data from Sofascore we take a look...

Guglielmo Vicario (Goalkeeper)

The Italian turned 29 last month and has been with the club since 2023. He played a vital role in Tottenham lifting the Europa League trophy making five crucial saves in the final and securing the 1-0 victory.

Tottenham's No 1 has had his share of battles with injury, fracturing his ankle in November 2024 in a 4-0 win against Manchester City. The setback saw him ruled out until mid-February.

This season has seen him play a key role in Tottenham's fifth position, prior to this weekend's matches, with four clean sheets and a save percentage of 77 per cent.

Jurrien Timber (Right back)

Timber is a product of the Ajax academy which he joined in 2014. His senior debut came in 2020 for Ajax, while he developed there in 2023 Arsenal came along and purchased Timber for a fee of £38.5million including add-ons.

Timber has now cemented the right-back position at Arsenal, having made 43 Premier League appearances. He has played 3,376 minutes in the league and has won 200 duals.

Two of his three goals come from this season, showing the 24-year-old is expressing himself in his third season at Arsenal.

William Saliba (Centre back)

Joining the club in July 2019 for a fee of £27m, the defender went on three loan spells before making his Arsenal debut in 2022 and has been an integral part since.

The Frenchman has now signed a long-term deal which means he will stay in the English capital till 2030. The extension shows the commitment manager Mikel Arteta is displaying in retaining Arsenal's core group.

In recent times Saliba is regarded as one of the most profound centre backs in the Premier League and Europe. His paring with Gabriel has been instrumental for the north London side's growth and critics say this duo will be the underpinning factor if Arsenal win the league.

Gabriel Magalhaes (Centre back)

Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes joined the Gunners in 2020. The Brazilian had a debut to remember, with a goal on debut to start with. The defender has had a knack of scoring goals in big moments, often through set pieces.

Similar to Saliba as a reward for five sensational seasons at the club, Gabriel signed a new contract in June - securing his long-term future at the club until 2029.

The centre back has had an unbelievable run of late in the Premier League with a 90 per cent passing accuracy. With 171 appearances he has found the net 18 times complimented with three assists. However, it may be a while before he adds to those numbers after suffering a thigh injury on Brazil duty.

Riccardo Calafiori (Left back)

The 6ft 2in Italian defender prior to the Gunners was at Basel and Bologna. Having moved to Arsenal for an initial fee of £33.6m from Bologna he has been a driving force at the back this season.

Having played and started in all fixtures so far, he has been Arteta's go-to man down the left side.

Having missed Italy's World Cup qualifiers this month with a hip injury he is a concern for Arteta ahead of the north London derby.

Joao Palhinha (Centre midfield)

On loan from Bayern Munich, Palhinha is set to become a permanent member of Tottenham but with his £25m initial fee set to be reduced.

Palhinha is regarded as one of Bayern's more disappointing investments in recent years. However, his loan move to Tottenham has been a good one with a turn in form under Thomas Frank.

The Portuguese midfielder has made 18 appearances and scored four goals, including a crucial strike against Manchester City. His influence has been integral to Tottenham's push for a top-four finish, and the move has placed his career back on track.

Martin Zubimendi (Centre midfield)

Zubimendi and his accomplices Odegaard and Declan Rice are on track to bringing back the league to the Emirates after a drought since 2004. Playing in the midfield position he's shown a great accurate passing record of 88 per cent this season thus far.

Prior to joining Arsenal, Zubimendi was linked to Real Madrid under their new managerial lead of Xabi Alonso. But he chose to move to the capital for a fee of £60m.

On the international circuit, he performed well against England in the Euro 2024 final when subbed on for Rodri. He completed 92 per cent of his passes which resulted in Spain winning the game 2-1 in Berlin.

Declan Rice (Centre midfield)

Product of the West Ham academy after being released from Chelsea early on due to lack of physicality. His hard work through the ranks made him a pivotal figure for his professional stint at West Ham from 2017-2023.

At West Ham, he scored 10 goals and provided nine assists in 245 appearances across all competitions. The midfielder moved to north London for a club record fee of £105m.

At Arsenal, his link-up with Odegaard and Zubimendi has been working well for Arteta thus far, but the question which many are asking is that will this trio deliver the title back to north London?

Bukayo Saka (Right wing)

The poster boy at Arsenal must be Saka, a homegrown talent who is the definition of loyalty to a club. The winger is now locked in at the Emirates until 2027 with many believing he may never move from the Gunners.

His professional debut came in a 4–1 win against Fulham after coming on for Alex Iwobi in the 83rd minute. He became the first player born in 2001 to play in a Premier League match.

Between 2020-2022 he achieved back-to-back Arsenal Player of the Season awards. Fans at the Emirates see Saka as the underpinning factor of the Arteta era and are hoping for Saka to win the league. The last time they had done so, Saka was only three-years-old.

Richarlison (Striker)

Richarlison joined Spurs from Everton in 2022 and is now locked in with Tottenham until 2027. The Brazilian forward is now 28-years-old and has played in England since 2017, starting at Watford.

Utilised as either a wide attacker or central striker, Richarlison finished as Everton's joint-top scorer across all competitions in his opening two seasons before his move to Tottenham.

He has won the Copa America in both 2019 and 2021 as well as the Europa League with Tottenham in May.

Eberechi Eze (Left wing)

Eze has had a run to remember, the former Arsenal age-group player was dropped but has returned after excelling at Crystal Palace most recently. In recent interviews he revealed that it was always a goal to play for the Gunners from a young age.

The forward was signed by Arteta this summer after being linked with Spurs for a short time. Eze was purchased for £68m and was revealed to Arsenal fans during a Leeds game.

His Arsenal career has been fairly decent so far contributing to one goal and two assists. Fans are hoping the good money signing is one for longevity and with a league title or two.

Thomas Frank thinks his first north London derby is likely to be akin to a trip to the ‘madhouse’. As manager of Tottenham for the last three months, he must know how that feels by now.

After all, trying to make sense of Spurs is a path which only leads to insanity.

The Dane has Tottenham four points off third-placed Manchester City with a game in hand and yet the Frank era is yet to ignite or inspire and the new man went into the international break with the sound of Spurs fans booing his substitutions ringing in his ears.

Now, he travels to his club’s fiercest rivals, the league leaders Arsenal, and to a stadium in which his side have won just once in the league in their history and not in 15 years.

It’s a good job, perhaps, that the current mystery surrounding Spurs is why they are so devasting on their travels yet when playing in front of their own fans, leave them either bored, booing or both.

The difference is staggering. Spurs sit top of the 'away table' with four wins and 13 points from their five games on the road. By contrast, they lie second from bottom on the 'home table' with just a single win and five points from six matches. Only winless Wolves have a worse home record thus far.

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The first thing to point out, of course, is that this isn’t just a Frank problem. It was an Ange Postecoglou problem too in the end. Spurs have won at home just three times since November last year but Frank is yet to find a way to fix it.

‘I know at home you may play in a specific way, and other teams are playing in a specific way against you, compared to when you go away,’ said Frank last month.

‘And then the team opens up a little bit more, so you can hit them a little bit more on the counter, so you don’t have to create everything from scratch and (face) 11 players behind the ball.’

It’s that creating from scratch that continues to hold Frank’s Spurs back. Without the injured James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in the heart of midfield, and Xavi Simons struggling to adapt to the rough and tumble of the Premier League, Spurs lack a player through the middle that can collect the ball, turn and pick gaps in deep-lying defences.

The meat-and-potatoes pairing of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur provide decent strength and stability but struggle to break down defences when Spurs have more of the ball and need to start picking locks instead of pockets.

Take the home defeat by Aston Villa. Unai Emery's side were happy to sit in their mid-block and let Spurs try to play through them. That is when you need your midfielders to work their magic. This, however, is the pass map of Palhinha (6) and Bentancur (30). Side to side and down the sides but rarely, if ever, through the heart of Villa’s defence.

Take the same pass map from the home defeat by Bournemouth, where Spurs had 61 per cent possession, and you would be forgiven for thinking the hosts were attacking from right to left.

They weren’t. They just happened to play more passes into their own area than the Cherries’.

This game was only the second time since 2003 that Tottenham failed to have a shot in the first half of a home Premier League game.

Across the entirety of the season both home and away, Tottenham have played just four defence-splitting through balls - that’s the fewest in the division and at least half as many as any other side. Arsenal, by contrast, have played 40. Declan Rice has played four on his own.

Tottenham average more possession, more passes, and more passes in the final third at home than they do away but have fewer touches in the box and attempt fewer shots.

Spurs fans have grown tired and frustrated at seeing their side pass continually in that horseshoe shape around the penalty area without playing an incisive ball into the box. Only Burnley have attempted fewer shots in home games this season. Spurs have fired 54 shots on goal, Manchester City and Chelsea are both in the nineties.

In their dismal home loss to Chelsea, Spurs racked up an expected goals tally of just 0.05, their lowest in a league game on record.

You can get away with playing that way at home to Chelsea when you’re in charge of Brentford. You can’t when you’re Tottenham manager. You can’t when fans hold up pieces of card to spell in gigantic letters ‘To dare is to do’.

While Frank proved at Brentford to be a practical, flexible manager able to switch between different styles, so much of their success came through his side’s ability to get the ball forward quickly to speedy wide players like Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade.

That’s where he’s had the most joy for Tottenham, too. His Spurs side are better when they play a bit more like Brentford. Before this weekend's action, only his old club, Wolves, Manchester United and Bournemouth had attempted more long balls this term than Spurs.

That suits them better on the road where teams, in general, allow them more space. They’ve won all three of the games in which they have had the least possession.

Away from home so far, Spurs have won the ball far less high up the pitch, allowed their opponents more passes before trying to win back possession, but are enjoying double the number of counter attacks.

They are at their most dangerous when they are able to cut out the midfield entirely. For their opening goal against Manchester City, it’s a long ball from deep that’s flicked on by Pape Sarr into Richarlison’s path before crossing for Brennan Johnson to score.

You can see from the images below that Spurs’ midfield is nowhere to be seen.

It’s the same for this great chance for Mohammed Kudus against Leeds. Spurs prefer to play it down the channels and miss out the midfield entirely. Not that there is one there to play to in any case.

When there’s space to run into, it works. Despite their excellent away start, however, whether it’s sustainable is also a question. Spurs have still conceded a greater xG than they have created on the road, too. They still face more shots than they take.

It is a good job their 22 per cent shot conversion rate on the road is better than any other team's in the division. The 5 per cent conversion rate of their opponents is also the lowest.

It’s an approach, too, that has also got Spurs in trouble on multiple occasions – and could again against Arsenal. Without a midfield that can play through a press, Frank’s side only have one way to go: wide and long.

In this example against Chelsea, Sarr comes short to receive a pass. There is no one ahead of him so he cannot turn and play forward into midfield. He knocks it out wide to Pedro Porro, whose only option is to knock it down the line, only Alejandro Garnacho cuts it out and Chelsea miss a great chance.

Spurs frequently gave the ball away inside their own defensive third in the build-up to Joao Pedro’s opener too.

This lack of a midfield able to progress the ball upfield continues to catch them out. They were pressed to death against Bournemouth too. Only one side in the division has lost possession in their own third more this season than Spurs. They have made the most errors leading to the opposition having a shot.

None of this bodes well for the north London derby, does it?

Well, maybe. If there is one slight dint in Arsenal’s titanium hull it is where Spurs most like to attack.

Clean sheet machines Arsenal have faced, unsurprisingly, the fewest shots in the division, at least 20 fewer than anyone else. And yet they have conceded the second most shots in the league from fast breaks. If you can get at them, get them on the counter.

Manchester City got at them that way for Erling Haaland’s early goal. Manchester United exploited that space in behind the left full back frequently, too.

With Gabriel ruled out injured and full back Riccardo Calafiori a doubt for the game, Arsenal will have an unsettled duo down that side that Kudus could be able to exploit.

No player has attempted to dribble past his opponent more often this term than £55m summer signing Kudus.

Spurs just need to be able to find him. You can’t just hit and hope against Arsenal, you have to attack with purpose.

While their central midfielders will struggle to do so, Frank does possess one player with the range of passing to pick him out: Pedro Porro.

The full back has played the most progressive passes of any Spurs player this term. He’s played more than double the passes into the final third of any of his team-mates.

Frank needs to find a way to get him on the ball, even in central areas, and find Kudus – just as he did for a great chance in the defeat by Villa.

If Spurs are going to stand the best chance of their second win at the Emirates, this is the blueprint.

That is, of course, if Rice hasn’t overrun Frank’s midfield first.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be aware he needs to win a trophy this season, claims former Gunners defender Sol Campbell.

There's been a marked and undeniable improvement at The Emirates since the Spaniard succeeded Unai Emery in the winter of 2019.

The Gunners have gone from a side considered weak, even spineless, and languishing outside of the European spots to a formidable one challenging at the top of the table. Yet so far football's biggest prizes - the Premier and Champions League - have evaded Arteta.

But Campbell, who was a key part of Arsenal's last title-winning side of 2003-04, believes the current crop of players have what it takes to end the club's more than 20-year wait for the Premier League trophy this term.

Speaking to Daily Mail Sport on behalf of Paddy Power ahead of Sunday's crunch north London derby, the 51-year-old said: 'I think by hook or crook, he (Arteta) needs to win something. Internally, he must be thinking, "I need to win something, I need to get some silverware out of this season."

'I think deep down, all the players who have been there, you get moments in seasons and generations and during a manager's tenure that you need to capitalise on.

'They've got a great chance now because next season Liverpool, Man United, Spurs and Man City might be stronger, you've got this window of City just turning it around, but that's it. They've got to recognise that their moment is now, and they've got to take it.'

Arsenal head into this weekend's derby four points clear of Man City at the top of the table having conceded a mere five goals all season.

The Gunners' back four of Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Riccardo Calafiori has been formidable and utterly crucial to their success, not only in defence but also from set-pieces.

However, in what Arteta described as a 'blow', Timber, Gabriel and Calafiori could all miss Sunday's crunch match after picking up knocks on international duty.

Yet Campbell, one of few players to don both the white of Spurs and the red of their fierce north London rivals, is still backing Arteta's men to get the job done.

'Arsenal need to keep winning and keep their momentum going,' the former England international said. 'They've got to look at it and think, it's a tough game with high tensions, but they need to come out of there with a win.

'At The Emirates I do think Arsenal will squeeze a 2-1 win even with all their injury problems. They've got enough firepower on the wings and the strength in the middle of the park is incredible.

'The unit, it doesn't matter who drops in there, it's going to be solid. The middle of the park is incredible. It's been a long time coming to have depth of that quality, that when players do get injured, the subs come in and the quality stays. That was a problem in the past.'

Another star who could be missing is Viktor Gyokeres, who didn't feature in either of Graham Potter's first two games in charge of Sweden during the international break.

The striker, who signed amid much fanfare, has endured a mixed start to the campaign, scoring four goals in his first 10 Premier League appearances.

He's come in for criticism from some parts, with some bemoaning his rusty hold up play and failure to net against top opposition.

However Campbell believes Gyokeres could benefit from better service from his team-mates, just as the great Thierry Henry did all those years ago.

'It doesn't matter, sometimes if it's your movement, but the team has to find him,' Campbell argued. 'There's a bit of two things going on at the same time at the moment.

'Remember Arsenal have been so used to playing a certain style. Now Gyokeres is in there he likes a certain ball which they have to start changing to get him into the game some more.

'The understanding is not completely there. I think sometimes the players will have to change their style to suit him. I remember Thierry saying, "you have to understand what ball I want played to me." Because the ball you played to him was different to that you'd give Freddie (Ljungburg) or Robert (Pires).

'I think they will get the best out of him and allow him to thrive and come alive. They've just got to start switching their play in the final third.'

Campbell indeed acknowledges some similarities between the current crop of Arsenal stars and his own Invincible team of 2003-04.

The title-winning Gunners were too a side boasting an impressive mix of strength and power through Campbell, Patrick Viera and Martin Keown, but also flair and eccentricity with the great Henry and Denis Bergkamp.

'The similarities which I see are movement and mobility,' says Campbell. 'That is quite similar to our team. Ashley (Cole) was mobile, I was mobile, Kolo (Toure) was mobile, Keown was great.

'That's one thing that's similar. They're very mobile and strong and incredibly good on the ball. There are similarities for sure.'

Ruben Amorim is hopeful Benjamin Sesko will be back before Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui leave for the Africa Cup of Nations after the striker avoided serious injury.

Sesko hobbled off in the 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur with Amorim fearing that night that his £73.7million summer signing had suffered a serious problem to his knee.

That did not prove to be the case and after pulling out of international duty with Slovenia to begin his rehab at Carrington, Amorim is now much more optimistic.

'He is going to stay a few weeks out, I don't know how long but it is not that serious,' Amorim said.

'We have to be careful with him. He is going to recover, he is doing the recovery and he is feeling better. In a few weeks I expect to have Ben.'

Sesko was one of three noteworthy absentees from training on Friday morning, as Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo also missed the session.

Maguire will definitely not play any part against Everton on Monday night but Mainoo is expected to come back into the mix after missing the trip to Tottenham.

'Kobbie didn't train today but I think tomorrow we could see Kobbie, we will see,' Amorim said.

Sesko's absence leaves Amorim without a genuine No 9 option for forthcoming matches, meaning he will have to shuffle his pack with Matheus Cunha expected to lead the line.

But away from Monday's game, there is a sense of trepidation that United's attack, which has looked much improved this season compared to last, will be decimated in the next few weeks when Mbeumo and Amad leave for AFCON.

Mbeumo's Cameroon play their first match on December 24, Amad and Ivory Coast face Mozambique on the same day, while Morocco and Mazraoui face Comoros three days prior on December 21.

As per FIFA rules, nations can call on players to be released by their clubs two weeks prior to their first tournament match and Amorim is acutely aware that amid a flurry of festive fixtures, bringing Sesko back into a soon-to-be depleted attack will be essential.

'We have the rules when we have to release the players,' he explained.

'We are doing our job to try and maintain the players we have for a bit longer but it's not just in our hands, we have to respect that. But we will try to do everything to protect the club, protect the player and protect the national teams.'

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What it is expected to do is open the door for academy players such as Jack Fletcher and Shea Lacey, both of whom trained with the first team again on Friday, and Amorim is not fearful of turning to the kids.

'We already knew [players would go to AFCON] and it is an opportunity for other players.

'We also have the Under-21s and we need to also send a message. We'll see. Of course it is not ideal because they are so important in our team and we don't have a long squad but again, our academy is for this moment and we'll be ready.'