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Thomas Frank's Spurs have lost three of their last five Premier League games Tottenham manager Thomas Frank and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario apologised to fans following Sunday's hapless performance against Arsenal in the north London derby. Spurs were beaten 4-1 at Emirates Stadium - their joint-heaviest Premier League defeat by the Gunners - with Eberechi Eze scoring a hat-trick against the club he almost joined in the summer. Richarlison replied with a sensational 40-yard effort, but that was scant consolation for the visitors, whose expected-goals (x G) rating of 0. 07 was the lowest in the top flight this season. "It's extremely painful - I won't walk away from that, " Frank, whose side have now lost three of their last five league games, told Sky Sports. "We can only apologise to the fans for that performance. "It was a bad performance. I've seen a lot of character and fight in this team, but we didn't win enough duels. " A 'special day' for Eze - but can anyone challenge Arsenal for title? Eze hat-trick sends Arsenal six points clear at top with win over Spurs Frank switched to a back three against the leaders, but the move failed to pay off as Arsenal cut through Spurs time and time again in the first half and deservedly led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Leandro Trossard and Eze. The Dane changed the system at the break, but former Crystal Palace man Eze scored the third 35 seconds into the second half before completing the scoring 14 minutes from time. "I will always take responsibility for my choice, " Frank continued. "My view on it is that no matter what formation we played, we didn't have enough duels or intensity in the decisive moments, [which makes it] very difficult to win a football match. " Vicario echoed his manager's sentiments as he told Sky Sports: "We have to apologise to the people that support us every day. They expected us to fight and today we didn't fight. That's not negotiable at this level. "We were too passive. The gameplan we prepared was different. The emotions are high, but we need cool heads. " This was not the first time this season Tottenham have struggled to threaten the opposition in the final third. In the 1-0 defeat at home by Chelsea earlier this month, Spurs managed only three attempts and posted an x G of 0. 1 - the second lowest in the Premier League this season. Their x G of 0. 17 in the 1-0 reverse against Bournemouth in August was only marginally better. "It has been an ongoing theme that we are working hard to improve, " added Frank, whose side visit holders Paris St-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday. "It doesn't look good today, or against Chelsea. "There will be noise - we played against our biggest rivals and we lost badly - but we'll keep noise out and focus. "I know this team is competitive. Of course it looks bad, it was not good enough. " Latest Tottenham news, analysis and fan views Ask about Tottenham - what do you want to know? Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser A 'special day' for Eze - but can anyone challenge Arsenal for title? NFL: Chiefs win overtime thriller, listen to Eagles v Cowboys - week 12 latest England dog out win to have their day once more Preview the return of The Night Manager Is cricket financially healthy? Daddy Issues is back for a new series Sir Stephen Fry has remained 'faithful' to Black Berry 'Liverpool in full-blown crisis and Slot under severe pressure' Forest inflict stunning defeat on Liverpool at Anfield. Video Forest inflict stunning defeat on Liverpool at Anfield Cunha misses Christmas switch-on after 'training accident' 'Stubborn, maddening and slow-learning - England's worst defeat in Australia for years' Starc takes catch off own bowling to remove Crawley for another duck. Video Starc takes catch off own bowling to remove Crawley for another duck A look around Barcelona's new-look Nou Camp. Video A look around Barcelona's new-look Nou Camp Who are Premier League kings of the long throw? Head savages England with 69-ball Ashes century. Video Head savages England with 69-ball Ashes century Are you not being entertained? The decline of the open-play goal Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.