Tottenham fell to a heavy 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in a miserable first competitive north London derby for Thomas Frank.
Spurs were set up to contain and did so from 36 minutes, but once their defence was breached a recovery never looked likely
Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick after Leandro Trossard opened the scoring, with Richarlison’s brilliant strike catching David Raya off his line the only positive moment for Spurs.
Here’s how we rated the Spurs players after a painful north London derby defeat...
Guglielmo Vicario 6
Led the early time-wasting efforts but Nothing he could do about the three goals. Sharp early save to keep out Declan Rice’s effort and superb stop to prevent a fourth for Eze.
Djed Spence 4
Rare start on the right and looked more comfortable than Udogie on the other flank. Didn’t track Trossard for the opener though and Spurs never recovered.
Kevin Danso 4
Nearly turned into his own net in opening minutes. A couple of shaky clearances and then hooked at half-time as Spurs shifted formation. Match to forget.
Cristian Romero 5
Brilliant flicked clearance denied Eze a hat-trick. Tried to rally Spurs with his aggression, but costly booking for dissent means he will miss next week’s match at home to Fulham.
Micky van de Ven 4
Unfortunate to deflect Trossard’s strike past Vicario. Deep defensive line meant there was no need for his recovery pace - not entirely comfortable when shifting wide to help out Udogie.
Destiny Udogie 3
Miserable match. At fault for the opening goal, playing Trossard onside, and cut a frustrated figure clashing with Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber. Slipped for Eze’s third to sum up his display.
Joao Palhinha 7
One of the few to do anything in the first half, snapping into the challenges as ever. Tried to drag Spurs up the pitch after the break too, thrived in the intensity.
Rodrigo Bentancur 3
Booked for pulling down Saka. Weak for Eze’s first and struggled after the break as the match became stretched, doing nothing to give Spurs some much-needed control.
Wilson Odobert 4
Anonymous. Not helped by the set-up, to be fair to him, which saw Spurs offer next to nothing in attack. Had one promising moment in first half when it opened up but opted against shooting.
Mohammed Kudus 4
Looked rusty after a few weeks without a match. Limited service and so isolated when he did get the ball. Tough game to assess any of the attackers considering approach.
Richarlison 5
Magical moment when catching Raya off his line from miles out. That, though, was his only meaningful touch. Otherwise too keen to go to the ground - a familiar theme.
Substitutes:
Xavi Simons (Danso 46’) 6
Benched for the derby shows how his start at Spurs has gone. But this was a fairly bright cameo, driving well with the ball and looking positive. Should be starting.
Randal Kolo Muani (Odobert 66’) 5
Swift return from a jaw injury wearing a mask but hardly had a kick in his 25 minutes on the pitch, playing slightly deeper.
Pape Matar Sarr (Bentancur 66’) 5
One threatening burst in behind but otherwise quiet.
Pedro Porro (Spence 78’) 5
Dealt well with Noni Madueke. Main involvement was to stick up for Simons when squaring up to Declan Rice.
Brennan Johnson (Kudus 78’) 5
4-1 down when he came on. Basically brought on to give Kudus a bit of a rest.
