Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank issued a blunt apology to supporters after his side were humbled 4-1 by Arsenal in a North London derby described as “painful” and lacking “fight”.

Spurs produced their joint-heaviest Premier League defeat to their rivals, registering an xG of 0.07 – the lowest by any team this season.

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Frank did not hold back. “It’s extremely painful – I won’t walk away from that,” he told Sky Sports. “We can only apologise to the fans for that performance. It was a bad performance… we didn’t win enough duels.”

Despite switching to a back three, Spurs were carved apart repeatedly as Arsenal surged to a 2-0 half-time lead. Frank admitted his tactical gamble failed.

“No matter what formation we played, we didn’t have enough duels or intensity. That makes it very difficult to win a football match,” he said. “I will always take responsibility for my choice.”

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario echoed the sentiment, labelling the display unacceptable.

“We have to apologise to the people that support us every day,” he said. “They expected us to fight and today we didn’t fight. That’s not negotiable at this level. We were too passive.”

The defeat also highlighted Spurs’ recurring struggle to threaten in the final third. From a 0.1 xG output against Chelsea to 0.17 versus Bournemouth earlier this season, the problem is now chronic.

“It has been an ongoing theme that we are working hard to improve,” Frank admitted. “There will be noise… but we’ll keep that out and focus. I know this team is competitive. Of course it looks bad – it was not good enough.”

With Paris Saint-Germain next in the Champions League, Spurs face a stern test to rediscover their edge – and their goals.

Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images