Tottenham Hotspur were left red-faced at the Emirates Stadium, and Les Ferdinand has now delivered a scathing assessment after watching Arsenal dismantle Thomas Frank’s side with ease.
Thomas Frank was made to eat his words on Sunday afternoon as Eberechi Eze reminded the Tottenham Hotspur boss exactly who he was.
Ahead of the north London derby, when Frank was questioned about the Arsenal playmaker, he replied by asking, “Who is Eze?”, but it was the midfielder who had the last laugh as he grabbed a hat trick.
Indeed, it was a performance that left a lot to be desired from a Tottenham perspective, with Frank’s side showing no fight or spirit as they fell to a 4-1 defeat in the most important game of their season, according to Frank.
Les Ferdinand slams Tottenham’s approach
Les Ferdinand has now delivered a brutal verdict on Tottenham’s performance, making it clear that he felt Spurs set themselves up far too passively against their rivals.
In his assessment, Ferdinand highlighted how Tottenham had shown a more front-footed approach in Europe in the Super Cup against PSG, yet failed to produce anything similar at the Emirates Stadium, before expanding on the tactical issues he felt Frank got wrong.
Speaking on the game, he told Sky Sports Main Event (23/11/25): “When they came here today with a five at the back, you think to yourself, ‘If you can perform like you performed against PSG’, have a go.
“It wasn’t a negative five at the back [against PSG], it was a front-footed; go and have a go, and press people.
“They came here, sat back, and allowed Arsenal to come wave after wave. Arsenal didn’t even get out of third gear. Let us not say this was a five-star performance. The scoreline is five-star. They didn’t have to [put in a five-star showing].
“There was no fight, there was no bite. This is north London. You expect a little bit of spark; a little bit of something. Arsenal had three players that had never played in a north London derby before, Tottenham probably had one.
“There was nothing. Nothing that those players did out there felt like a north London derby to me.”
Spurs creativity issues deepen after heavy derby defeat
Tottenham were not just poor at the back in this league fixture, as Frank’s side also struggled going forward.
Spurs’ performance against Arsenal was their worst creative showing in over ten years, as it took a strike from the halfway line for the Lilywhites to get on the scoresheet.
In the derby game, Tottenham managed just three shots, an xG of 0.07, four touches in the opposition box, 120 touches in the opposition half and 52 passes in the final third, which summed up a flat all-round display by Frank’s men, who disappointed in equal measure in both defence and attack.