Thomas Frank told what needs to be done amid ‘unacceptable’ Tottenham scenes
Danny Murphy has urged Thomas Frank to make changes to his Tottenham side on the back of losing heavily to Arsenal.
Tottenham were battered 4-1 by Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday, with Frank‘s side completely anonymous on the day.
Richarlison‘s spectacular goal to make it 3-1 in the second half ultimately proved meaningless, as Eberechi Eze capped off the scoring to claim his hat-trick.
Tottenham are now set to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Frank hoping to provoke a response out of his team.
PSG are the overwhelming favourites to beat Tottenham, with a trip to the Parc des Princes representing a mammoth task for the North London club.
Danny Murphy firm on Thomas Frank actions
Tottenham produced an embarrassing performance against Arsenal, with Frank’s side generating just three shots throughout the game.
The visitors’ tally of just 0.06 expected goals is their lowest total on record since the stat started being collected, with the previous lowest coming against Chelsea just weeks ago.
Much of the blame can be placed on the Dane’s tactics, with the former Brentford manager clearly setting up to defend at the Emirates Stadium.
| Arsenal | Match stats | Tottenham |
| 57% | Possession | 43% |
| 17 | Shots | 3 |
| 8 | On target | 2 |
| 2.14 | Expected goals (xG) | 0.06 |
| 3 | Big chances | 0 |
| 4 | Corners | 1 |
Frank deployed a five-at-the-back formation, with just three forward-thinking players on the pitch. And even then, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert were tasked with aiding their full-backs for large parts of the game, leaving Richarlison to feed off scraps.
But the players cannot escape blame, either, with lacklustre and pitiful performances all over the pitch on Sunday.
Speaking about what Frank must do now, Murphy told talkSPORT on Wednesday: “I’m sure he didn’t go into the Arsenal game expecting that.
“Sometimes players can freeze, sometimes they don’t engage with the messaging you’re giving. So he’s either got to make some changes or kick some backsides because you can lose a game of football but it’s the way you lose it, and that was unacceptable.”
Frank must take action at Tottenham
Frank defended his tactical choices against Arsenal when he spoke to the media on Tuesday, instead pointing to the failure to win duels.
“The most disappointing thing was that we were not able to compete,” he said. “We had 53 situations where it was like a duel, [a] second-ball situation, where either Arsenal went long or we went long.
“We came out on top on 17 of those and lost 36. If you don’t do that … it is basic, then it’s very difficult to win a football match.“
The Dane is not wrong, but now is the time to show that his words can be backed up by genuine action. Wednesday’s clash will be telling.
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