Brentford FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Mikel Arteta will be facing a new manager in next weekend’s north London derby (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has sent a class message to Thomas Frank after he was sacked by Tottenham little more than a week prior to the upcoming north London derby.
The latest tumultuous result of Frank’s dismal reign, a 2-1 home defeat against Newcastle, resulted in Spurs falling to 16th in the Premier League and made it two wins in 17 league fixtures.
Not for the first time in 2026 Frank faced calls to be ‘sacked in the morning’ by disgruntled Tottenham fans and there were also chants for old boss Mauricio Pochettino during the club’s eighth home loss in all competitions this season.
With 12 days until Spurs host their bitter local rivalson February 22, it left chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, sporting director Johan Lange and the Lewis family, which runs the club’s major shareholder ENIC, with a decision to make over Frank’s future and they have dismissed the 52-year-old.
Frank insisted after the defeat to Newcastle that he remained ‘1,000 per cent’ certain he was the right man for the job and claimed to be ‘convinced’ that he would be in charge of the visit of Arsenal.
However, a fifth loss in nine matches and the latest abject display booed by home supporters at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium forced the Spurs board into action with a recognition Frank’s position had become untenable.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium no worse than level on points with Manchester City at the head of the Premier League table and looking to record a fourth straight win on enemy territory.
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Next permanent Tottenham manager odds
Robert De Zerbi 1/2
Mauricio Pochettino 7/4
Xavi Hernandez 8/1
Robbie Keane 8/1
Ruben Amorim 12/1
Xabi Alonso 16/1
Oliver Glasner 16/1
Enzo Maresca 20/1
Michael Carrick 25/1
Odds courtesy of BetVictor
A new manager bounce could well provide Spurs with a measure of impetus but for now, at least,Arteta was keen to focus on sending his well wishes to a colleague he has the utmost respect for.
He said: ‘Well, it’s obviously very sad news when you have a colleague that doesn’t continue doing his job, because Thomas is an excellent coach, and an extraordinary man as well – and he’s proven that in the league.
‘We know where we are, and how our responsibility is beyond just performance, and I wish him all the very best with whatever he decides to do next.’
Asked whether his plans were likely to change in terms of his preparations given there will be a new face in the opposition dugout, he added: ‘I think it’s happened a lot of times already this season for us.
‘At the end, you learn the lesson that not only with the change of manager, but what you expect a manager to do against you as well, because it has changed a lot this season.
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‘So we focus more on us and what we want to achieve, the way we want to play, the things we want to happen in the game in relation to what they do tactically – because their setup is one thing; their player profile is another thing, and momentum of the game and context is something else.
‘We have to be able to adapt and recognise that, and understand those clues to do what we have to do.’
Pressed on whether he thought eight months was enough time for any new manager to get their ideas across to a Premier League squad, he said: ‘I don’t know, because you have to go into those discussions and what they agreed on, how they saw the club, or the evolution of the squad, or the performances that are expected.
‘I don’t know, I can just talk about [Thomas] Frank, what I know as a coach because I’ve faced him many times and how he prefers his teams and what he did at Brentford as well.
‘Or the way they [Spurs] looked in pre-season when we played them. They were really impressive. But at the end of the day, this league is so competitive. We are all vulnerable because anybody can be on the day, you know that, and that’s really tough to manage.’
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