Les Ferdinand launched into a scathing indictment of Tottenham’s performance after they were thrashed 4-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Thomas Frank took charge of his first competitive north London derby, but could only watch on as his side were torn to shreds by the league leaders, who are now six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Eberechi Eze, who was on the brink of a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer, struck a hat-trick on his derby debut, following up Leandro Trossard’s 36th-minute opener.
Richarlison scored a stunner from distance, lobbying David Raya, but it would go down as just a consolation as Spurs sank to ninth in the table.
In the Sky Sports studio afterwards, Spurs legend Ferdinand fumed at his former club’s defensive approach, with Frank reverting to a back five shape, similar to the one that he adopted in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
“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,” the ex-striker said.
“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’s 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.”
Tottenham arrived at the Emirates with the best away record in the league, but that was made a mockery of as Arsenal swept their arch-rivals aside with ease.
Spurs must pick themselves up quickly, with an important Champions League encounter at holders PSG in midweek, before they face Fulham and Newcastle in their next Premier League outings.
