Spurs were humiliated at the home of their fiercest rivals on Saturday, with Harry Kane’s penalty not enough as goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka secured a deserved 3-1 win for high-flying Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Such a loss was Tottenham’s first time in the Premier League this season and there have been questions about it Antonio Conteaselections and tactics, not helped by sending Emerson Royal away, who met a defiant response from the manager at the spiky press conference ahead of Monday’s game.
Here, Standard Sport’s chief football correspondent Dan Kilpatrick points out three key areas for Spurs to improve as they attempt to topple the Europa League holders at Deutsche Bank Park.
Tottenham will be happy to come back from derby defeat when they travel to Frankfurt
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Conte was frustrated with his side’s sloppy final balls against Arsenal and wants them to be more ruthless in the final third in Germany tonight. The Spurs generally look less slick in the transition without Dejan Kulusevski, who is again missing with a hamstring problem, but Harry Kane and Ivan Perisic in particular have the quality to break through any opposition.
Control in the midfield
The Spurs have struggled to control games this season and were often overrun in midfield. Conte is considering a move to 3-5-2 tonight, with Yves Bissouma joining Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in the middle of the park at the expense of an attacker. The move should give Spurs more possession and would be a big opportunity for Bissouma, who has only made one start since he switched from Brighton.
Thrust of wing back
Conte offered a passionate defense from Emerson for tonight’s game, but the Brazilian clearly needs to provide more power from the fullback if the Italian’s system is to be fully effective. On the other wing, Perisic made an encouraging start at Spurs, but lost a big chance against Arsenal and has yet to score.