Phil Haigh
Published November 23, 2025 7:24pm
Updated November 23, 2025 7:25pm
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It was a tough day out for Thomas Frank’s Tottenham team (Picture: Getty)
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario admits his team did not fight as he apologises to fans for a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
The Gunners dominated the north London derby at the Emirates, with Eberechi Eze the star of the show thanks to a brilliant hat-trick.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the home team, with Richarlison scoring a spectacular consolation for Spurs, but Eze grabbed the headlines with the first north London derby hat-trick since 1978.
Thomas Frank’s side were well beaten, offering little going forward as they played five at the back and yet were unable to quell Arsenal’s attack.
Vicario says it was a lack of fight from his teammates, apologising to supporters for that surprising admission.
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‘A very bad night for us,’ the Italian told Sky Sports. ‘First of all we have to apologise to the people that support us every day. They expected us to fight and today we didn’t fight. Today we didn’t fight as a collective we didn’t fight and that’s not negotiable to compete in a football match especially at this level. We didn’t do it as a team.
‘Now is a tough night, it’s a very bad defeat but we have to stick together because we know that we have to address these kind of things. Now we have a big night again on Wednesday, we need to stick together and believe much more in ourselves.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23:Guglielmo Vicario of Tottenham Hotspur reacts after the Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
‘Tonight we didn’t show anything what we are normally capable of. The emotions are high and especially when you lose a derby in this way, but we need to have cool heads and apologise to people who support us and travel today because we cannot put in place a performance like that.’
It will be an extremely disappointing admission for Spurs fans to hear and Vicario was unsure as to why the team did not show enough fight in a big derby match.
‘I don’t know which is the answer,’ he said. ‘Probably many things. We waited a little bit to get into the game we were a little bit too passive, the game plan we prepared was a bit different, we didn’t recognise some situations to put pressure on them and to fight. Today we didn’t fight. We have to apologise for this.’
Metro at the Match: Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham
Eberechi Eze stole the show on Sunday (Picture: Getty)
Metro’s Ben Fleming breaks down the action from the Emirates:
It just had to be Eze
A first north London derby and what a way to announce yourself against the club that almost signed him in the summer. Eberechi Eze was given license to roam and find space, and he repaid that faith with two well-taken finishes.
Trossard continues to go under the radar
The Belgian was kept quiet in the first 30 minutes, but a superbly timed run and finish gave Arsenal the lead and Leandro Trossard his fifth goal contribution in ten games. Arteta will find him hard to drop even as Madueke and Martinelli return to full fitness.
Hincapie impresses in Gabriel’s absence
Piero Hincapie delivered an assured performance in his first league start (Picture: Getty)
Given his first league start since joining in the summer, Piero Hincapie proved exactly why Arteta previously described him as a ‘warrior’. The Ecuadorian didn’t have loads to do but threw himself at every ball and challenge when it came hs way.
Full Arsenal player ratings: Raya 7, Timber 7, Saliba 6, Hincapie 7, Calafiori 6, Zubimendi 6, Rice 7, Eze 9, Saka 7, Merino 7, Trossard 6. Subs: Madueke N/A,Nwaneri N/A, Mosquera N/A, Lewis-Skelly N/A.
Danso fails to deliver
Kevin Danso lined up alongside Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero as Frank opted for a back-five against Arsenal, but a nervy display from the Austrian only got worse when he allowed Trossard to ghost in behind him for the opener. No surprise he didn’t re-emerge after the break.
Odobert anonymous
Wilson Odobert struggled down the Spurs left (Picture: Getty)
The young Frenchman was given the opportunity in Tottenham’s front three, but struggled to have any impact on the game before making way in the second half. The left side of Spurs’ attack remains one area where Frank is yet to find his preferred man.
Vicario the only positive
Perhaps the only saving grace for Tottenham was that it was only the four goals shipped to their arch rivals. For that, they have Vicario to thank, who, while still unconvincing on the ball, remains a superb shot-stopper, denying Eze and Rice superbly either side of the half.
Full Tottenham player ratings: Vicario 6, Spence 5, Romero 5, Van de Ven 5, Danso 3, Udoig 4, Palhinha 6, Bentancur 5, Kudus 5, Odobert 3, Richarlison 6. Subs: Simons 5, Sarr 5, Kolo Muani 5, Porro N/A, Johnson N/A.
The 29-year-old dismissed the idea that the change to a back five was the problem, insisting it was an issue with aggression, physicality and competitiveness.
‘Doesn’t change nothing if we play five at the back, four at the back, two at the back,’ he said. ‘There are non negotiable things in football like fight every day, fight every duel, try to win, put your body and try to win some fouls. In that aspect today we didn’t play our game.
‘Then you can speak about every tactics, every build up every situation, but if you don’t do it as a collective a performance in terms of aggressiveness it’s tough to compete at this level. We didn’t show it so we have to apologise for this.’
Eberechi Eze was linked with a move to Spurs before joining Arsenal (Picture: Getty Images)
Manager Frank also sent an apology to the club’s fans, agreeing that his players lost too many duels on Sunday afternoon.
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‘I think it is extremely painful. I won’t talk away from that. It was a bad performance,’ he said. ‘It was completely the opposite of what the intention was when we came here.
‘We can only apologise to the fans for the performance. I think no matter if both teams wanted to play shirt, they got more out of that and we couldn’t get out. When the team went long, we didn’t win enough duels. That is exemplified by the 2-0 goal and the 3-0 goal, where a player went through two or three players. Bad performance and we lost.
‘I have seen a lot of character and fight in this team but we didn’t win enough duels. We can call that whatever we want but we didn’t win enough.’
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