Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle confessed that the North London derby went very differently than he anticipated.
Going into the big derby game at the Emirates, some Spurs fans were quietly confident, and they had good reason to be.
Tottenham had the best away record in the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s clash, having picked up 13 points from a possible 15 on offer.
However, not only did they suffer their first away loss of the season at the Emirates, but they were on the receiving end of a 4-1 drubbing and struggled to even lay a glove on Mikel Arteta’s side.
Glenn Hoddle says Tottenham were second best
Under Ange Postecoglou during the last two seasons, Spurs played a bold style of football at the Emirates, created chances and competed against their rivals.
However, Frank’s Spurs side lacked bravery and in the end, ended up conceding four goals despite parking the bus, with Hoddle admitting that the performance was ‘horrible’ to watch.
The former Spurs midfielder and manager told Premier League Productions about the Lilywhites’ 4-1 defeat: “It is a horrible feeling. Before the game, it is the anticipation that you could turn Arsenal over and win.
“Spurs needed to be in this game with 20 minutes to go to build up the pressure, but it never ignited like that. Arsenal were better in every area of the pitch.”
Frank is now between a rock and a hard place at Spurs
Spurs fans are starting to turn on Frank for not walking the talk, with the Dane refusing to take the handbrake off despite playing lip service to playing aggressive, attacking football.
However, the reality is that the 52-year-old’s success at Brentford was built on these principles, and to change his approach now would be to abandon his identity.
There is also the risk that the Spurs players would start to doubt his acumen if he suddenly changes his messaging. Having said that, something has to change if Frank does not want to completely lose all Tottenham fans.