PRIORITY ONE: THOMAS FRANK TARGETS PSG AFTER ROMERO'S 'STYLE' WARNING
Spurs boss Thomas Frank remains detached from criticism after the Arsenal loss as his team faces a crucial test of style against PSG.
Even a tough loss to Arsenal wasn't enough to get to Thomas Frank.
The Tottenham coach often says he doesn't pay much attention to the chatter around the club, except for what his press officer tells him or what reporters ask.
Sitting in Paris before a Champions League game against the champs, just days after a 4-1 defeat, Frank insisted that hasn't changed.
I don't read anything—no articles, no social media. So, I don't know if people are upset, he said.
Frank is smart, though. He probably has an idea what Spurs fans thought of the game and knows where the team needs work.
He's also heard enough this season to know people aren't thrilled with the way they play. Some home games have ended with boos, and after the Arsenal game, Frank and the players walked over to clap for the mostly empty away section.
Spurs now play Paris Saint-Germain tonight in what feels like the least important game of the week.
Fulham is coming to north London on Saturday, and that's a key game for Frank. If they don't win and win big, he'll have a hard time avoiding the criticism.
The Champions League isn't as risky since Spurs already have eight points from four games. A few more points should be enough to get them to the next round.
Frank's team needs to almost double their current points to finish in the top spots and move straight to the final 16, and a good result against PSG would help.
But that's not the biggest thing right now. How they play in this game will matter more than the score.
Losing 3-1, but really going for it against PSG, creating chances, even if they fall short against a better team, would be better than a boring 0-0 tie.
Frank's time at Spurs won't be judged by the PSG game. It'll be judged by whether Spurs start playing better together on offence.
Spurs have three of the five lowest xG scores in the league this season.
They were great defensively in the UEFA Super Cup against PSG in August, holding a 2-0 lead until the last few minutes despite having the ball only 25% of the time.
That was okay for Frank's first game, but it would be worrying if they haven't improved after a few months.
The fans need to see improvement, and so do the players. They can only be told to defend and disrupt so many times before they want to create. Too often, Frank's approach has made the players scared of the other team.
That can't be fun, and it won't work for long. Cristian Romero didn't like the mood at Spurs under Antonio Conte's style and praised Ange Postecoglou's more attacking style.
"It's the way Tottenham always played," Romero said in 2023. It's about taking risks and trying to control the game.
Again, a year later, the Spurs captain said, "We play in a fun style, and we're all happy with how the coach sets us up."
If Romero, a defender, doesn't like sitting back, the forwards definitely don't.
There's no such thing as an easy game at a club like Spurs, but fans will accept some losses.
This is one of those games, but only if Frank and his players show they're trying.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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