Spurs Humiliated in North London Derby
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a demoralising 4-1 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, 23rd November 2025. The match, played at the Emirates Stadium, was dominated by the Gunners, with Eberechi Eze scoring a stunning hat-trick – the first in a north London derby since 1978.
Vicario's Frank Admission and Apology
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was brutally honest in his post-match assessment, immediately apologising to the travelling supporters. 'First of all we have to apologise to the people that support us every day,' the Italian told Sky Sports. 'They expected us to fight and today we didn't fight. Today we didn't fight as a collective... that’s not negotiable.'
Vicario dismissed the notion that manager Thomas Frank's tactical switch to a back-five was the primary issue. He insisted the problem was a fundamental lack of aggression, stating, 'Doesn’t change nothing if we play five at the back, four at the back, two at the back. There are non-negotiable things in football like fight every day, fight every duel.' When pressed on why the fight was missing, he admitted, 'I don’t know which is the answer. Probably many things.'
How the Derby Unfolded
Arsenal took control early, with Leandro Trossard opening the scoring after capitalising on a nervous display from Spurs defender Kevin Danso. Eberechi Eze, facing the club that almost signed him, then took centre stage, netting his first two goals to give Arsenal a commanding 3-0 lead.
Tottenham's Richarlison scored a spectacular consolation goal for the visitors, but any hope of a comeback was extinguished when Eze completed his memorable hat-trick. Vicario was one of the few Tottenham players to emerge with any credit, making several superb saves to prevent an even heavier defeat.
Manager Thomas Frank echoed his goalkeeper's sentiments, describing the performance as 'extremely painful' and 'bad'. 'We can only apologise to the fans for the performance,' Frank said. 'I have seen a lot of character and fight in this team but we didn’t win enough duels.' The result leaves Tottenham with much to ponder before their next fixture on Wednesday.
