Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham: What Thomas Frank and Vicario said

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank speaking to the BBC’s Match of the Day: “Very difficult afternoon. Bad performance. It’s extremely painful to sit here after this game. We can only apologize to the fans for not playing better. I was very confident that we could be competitive today. We weren’t. We have to look at it with a cool, calm head and figure out what we need to change.

“We didn’t manage to be aggressive enough and we didn’t win the duels.

“One thing is for sure, with hindsight everything is much easier. I always take full responsibility for the performances. That’s what I have to come back to. We changed things at half-time, it was a little better, but the match was already over at 3-0. It doesn’t matter what system we use if we don’t win our duels.

“No matter how painful it is, and of course it’s the most painful loss of the season, there are things we can take away from this game.”

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to Sky Sports: “A very bad night for us. First of all, we have to apologize to the people who support us every day. They expected us to fight, and today we didn’t fight. That’s not negotiable in football at this level.

“It’s a difficult evening, a very bad defeat, but we have to stick together. We have a big night on Wednesday but we have to stick together. Tonight, we didn’t show what we are normally capable of.

“Emotions are running high, but we must keep a cool head and apologize to the people who support us and who traveled today.

“I think we waited too long to get into the game. We were too passive. The game plan we prepared was different. Today we didn’t fight. We have to apologize for that first. But we have to stick together and move forward because Wednesday we have a big night.”

On Arsenal’s second goal: “I think the way the match went it wouldn’t have changed anything. There were three people in front of me, so of course they touched me. But we didn’t lose the match because of that.”

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