HOW BAD WAS IT: THOMAS FRANK APOLOGIZES FOR PAINFUL DEFEAT TO RIVALS ARSENAL NOW
Thomas Frank and Guglielmo Vicario apologised to Tottenham fans after a "unacceptable" 4-1 derby loss to Arsenal. Both manager and goalkeeper admitted the team lacked fight and intensity in a dismal performance.
After Tottenham's 4-1 loss to Arsenal in the north London derby, manager Thomas Frank and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario said sorry to Spurs fans. They felt the team just didn't show enough fight.
Frank said the game was extremely painful, as Eberechi Eze scored an incredible hat trick. Richarlison's long shot was Tottenham's only real threat.
Vicario didn't blame tactics, even though Frank switched to a defensive formation. He admitted the players simply didn't battle hard enough.
Since Frank took over from Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham has lost to Arsenal and Chelsea. In those games, they struggled to score or create good chances.
It was a bad showing, Frank said. The game went completely against what we wanted. We can only say sorry to the fans. We didn't win enough battles, so the result was exemplified by Arsenal's second and third goals, where one of their players beat two or three of our players.
I've seen this team show a lot of character before, but we didn't win enough battles. Whatever we want to call it, the fact is, we didn't win enough. I tried a 5-4-1 formation, and I take responsibility for that choice. We switched it up at halftime.
“But no matter the formation, we didn't have enough fight or intensity in the important moments, and with Arsenal, it is hard to win. I need to look at the goals more closely. I'm going to have a tough time watching the whole game again tonight. We weren't aggressive when we could have been, and they just played around us.”
Tottenham needs to bounce back when they play Paris Saint-Germain, and Vicario said the team was too passive against Arsenal.
It was a really bad night. We have to apologise to our fans, who support us every day,” Vicario said. “They wanted us to fight, and we didn't. That's never acceptable in football at this level.
Very bad loss, but we have to stick together as we have a big game. We didn’t show what we can do tonight.
Emotions are high, but we need to keep calm and, again, apologise to the fans who travelled here. We waited too long to get into the game. We were too passive.
“The game plan we had didn't work. We didn't fight today, and we have to say sorry for that. But we need to stay united and move forward.
Vicario didn't blame Arsenal's first goal for the loss. He thought the offside Arsenal players blocked his view. The goal was checked by VAR but confirmed, and Vicario said, “I don't think it would have changed the game.
“There were three people in front of me, so of course, they blocked me. But that's not why we lost.
Ex-Tottenham striker Les Ferdinand was really critical of Tottenham's performance, saying they looked weak.
We just didn't compete. Derbies are hostile and fierce. It just wasn't there today,” Ferdinand said on Sky Sports. “They didn't compete at all.
If you're a Spurs fan, you're frustrated. We're talking about playing the league's best team. You want to put up a fight. We just gave up and got rolled over.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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