BBC pundit questions Tottenham creativity after derby defeat to Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur’s creative issues once again came under the spotlight after their derby collapse, with Danny Murphy now taking aim at a Thomas Frank side that looked flat in every attacking phase.
Thomas Frank suffered his worst defeat as Tottenham Hotspur manager on Sunday afternoon against bitter rivals Arsenal.
An Eberechi Eze hat-trick was enough for the Gunners to secure all three points after having beaten Thomas Frank’s side 4-1 on the evening.
It was not just a horrid defensive display; it was also one of the worst creative performances by Frank’s team this season, and in the Premier League.
Danny Murphy criticises Tottenham and Thomas Frank over attacking output
Against Arsenal, Tottenham managed an xG of 0.07, the lowest of any Premier League side this term, and it is not a one-off, given several other low xG performances under the Dane so far this campaign.
Against Chelsea, Spurs had an xG of 0.1, and against Bournemouth, they had an xG of 0.19. This is a criticism that Frank has had to deal with for most of this season, with his pragmatism leaving fans frustrated.
Danny Murphy highlighted these concerns on the BBC’s Match of the Day, stressing how the lack of creativity has become a clear theme in recent weeks. He noted that it was not just the absence of fight but also a worrying lack of invention in the final third.
“It is the lack of fight, but it is also the lack of creativity,” he told the BBC’s Match of the Day on 23 November.
“In the last couple of games, Arsenal and Chelsea at home, you can see here, the top two lowest in the last two games, and obviously they are one of the bottom three of the worst eight this season.
“Yes, you can hide behind Kulusevski, Solanke and Maddison not being there, but the players they have got in that squad are struggling. Really struggling to be brave enough, get on the ball, to make things happen.”
Mohammed Kudus gets a special mention
Murphy continued by singling out the frontline, stressing how only one player has shown any real spark in recent matches, and he suggested that fear and over-pragmatism have crept into the squad.
“You can argue only Kudus out of all their front players can hold his head up a little bit and say he has created stuff, that he has had a go. There is a lot of fear in that side, probably too much pragmatism,” Murphy continued.
“Frank is obviously new to it. He is working out who he can trust and who he can rely on. The reality is that they need to pick up soon because the level of performance in the past couple of games is causing discontent amongst the fans.”
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