Tottenham: Thomas Frank’s latest ‘special operation’ to exploit Gabriel absence at Arsenal

For the first time in more than two years, the north London derby player of the match will not be heading home with Gabriel.

Tottenham have had enough of the sight of the Arsenal defender. The Gunners have won the last three meetings between the two teams and Gabriel has been player of the match in all of them.

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Spurs will be looking to avoid losing a fourth consecutive game against Arsenal for the first time since the 1980s and Gabriel’s expected absence will help their cause.

The centre-back limped off during the international break with a thigh injury and reports suggest he could be out until January.

Arsenal are not short of options in defense, with Mikel Arteta having Piero Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori to choose from as replacements, but Gabriel is a crucial figure and Spurs must take advantage of the forced change in defense.

Spurs should have beaten Manchester United before the international break, but conceded the equalizer in the 96th minute to Matthijs de Ligt, who found space at the far post to head home from a corner.

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This is exactly the kind of scenario in which Gabriel thrives. He scored Spurs’ only goal last season and already has two goals and three assists in the current campaign.

Arsenal’s threat is one of their main weapons and Spurs’ hopes of keeping them quiet in these situations are significantly boosted by Gabriel’s absence.

Thomas Frank will also consider how to gain the advantage in attack. While Arsenal have solid depth, the breakdown of the partnership between Gabriel and William Saliba will have an impact on the defense.

Spurs attackers can be expected to target whoever is alongside the Frenchman. Hincapie has only played 26 minutes in the Premier League this season, while Mosquera has just 21 and this would be his first taste of a north London derby.

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Spurs are themselves weakened by Dominic Solanke still unavailable. Having him as a physical presence to test a revamped Arsenal defense would have been an obvious way for Spurs to capitalize on Gabriel’s absence.

Richarlison is really out of shape and Mathys Tel’s assets aren’t holding up the ball, so Frank will have to think of a different way to cause problems.

He might be tempted to switch to a back three to give him two attackers up front, as he did in what he called a “special operation” against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup. That night it was Mohammed Kudus alongside Richarlison and it worked superbly for Spurs.

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Having Kudus in a more central role and potentially rotating with Xavi Simons would raise questions about Arsenal’s centre-back duo.

Normally it’s Gabriel pushing and Saliba sweeping behind him, but a fluid Spurs frontline could detect a more unfamiliar defensive relationship.

One of Frank’s key qualities is developing specific game plans for these types of encounters. It worked at Manchester City in August and Spurs were minutes away from beating PSG.

If Frank is to become the first Spurs boss since Harry Redknapp to win at Arsenal in the Premier League, exploiting the loss of Gabriel will be crucial.