Losing out to Arsenal for Eberechi Eze was humbling for Spurs. But maybe they’ve already made their signing of the summer by hiring Thomas Frank.
— After a week in which they’ve missed out on signing Eberechi Eze to rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur delivered a timely message with their 2-0 win at Manchester City that the success of a season doesn’t just come down to what you can do in the transfer market.
Already in coach Thomas Frank’s short time in charge, Spurs have come within minutes of beating European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup and started their Premier League campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over Burnley. But this week the tone has changed — primarily because of Eze’s decision to join Arsenal rather than their North London neighbors.
Radio phone-ins have been inundated with furious fans. The supporters who traveled to City for Saturday’s early kickoff began their afternoon with chants of „We want Levy out“ in a show of frustration — it must be said, not only linked to the failed bid to sign Eze — at chairman Daniel Levy.
Within 45 minutes, though, the mood had flipped again. Tottenham went in at halftime at the Etihad Stadium leading 2-0. A controlled, disciplined performance in the second half meant the match finished that way and, for a few hours at least, Spurs went top of the Premier League. Maybe they’ve already got their signing of the summer by hiring Frank. Eberechi who?
– Has Frank got Tottenham ready for a Premier League revival?
– How did Arsenal beat Spurs to Eze, and why do they need him?
– How will Premier League’s new stars fare? Wirtz, Sesko, Gyökeres, more
„Extremely proud of the players‘ performance, an exceptionally good performance“, Frank said postmatch. „I think it’s fair to say we’ve had a few questions about the transfer market. ‚Why not?‘ and ‚What if?‘
„We have a good group of players, a talented group of players, that I’m very pleased with. If we can improve it, perfect. If we can’t, then we have very good players, and we showed that today.
