The Inside Story of Thomas Frank's Time at Tottenham

“Just Shut Up About Arsenal”: The Story Behind Thomas Franks Disastrous Spurs Stint

It’s no secret by now that Thomas Frank has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur, just eight months after taking the reins from Europa League-winning hero Ange Postecoglou.

His early days promised so much – the signings of Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani spoke of a genuine ambition to turn the club's fortunes around and get them back to the top end of the Premier League, where so many believe they belong.

However, though brought in as a safe pair of hands to bring some stability to a club where things have been so tumultuous over the last 18 months or so, Frank instead proved to be the worst possible appointment for a side with top four ambitions.

His tactics were dull and predictable, his demeanour too calm and assured for the ever-rowdy Tottenham faithful, and the ever-growing allegations that he was in fact a secret Arsenal supporter … well, that was the final nail in the coffin.

Thomas Frank goes down as the greatest undercover agent in the history of this rivalry. pic.twitter.com/Z0l8epUi0p

— ARDENT GOONER (@TheArsenalMind) February 11, 2026

Arsenal Through and Through

Even as late as last night's post-match interview in the wake of yet another defeat to Newcastle, Frank was confident of keeping his job. Asked if he thought he would be in charge for next week’s home game against bitter north London rivals Arsenal, Thomas was frank with his reply: “Yeah, I’m convinced I will be.”

🚨 OFFICIAL: Tottenham confirm Thomas Frank has been sacked with immediate effect.

Follows recent results despite manager said last night he was “1000% sure” about being in charge against Arsenal. pic.twitter.com/ErkI2rYojb

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 11, 2026

That aged well.

Granted, he has been incredibly unlucky with injuries to his squad; on multiple occasions throughout the season, Frank has had to deal with 10+ absences, and it’s not just rotation players – even now, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Pedro Porro and a great many more remain out until at least the end of this month, a nightmare in any manager’s books.

However, even in the midst of such an injury crisis, Frank was expected to find solutions rather than blame the lack of fitness in the wake of defeat, and the absence of such solutions meant that he has been on the outs for the last month or so, barely keeping his head above water with some well-timed wins against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

It is a stunning fact that those two results are their only two wins in 2026, but remarkably, that only tells half the story, as reports coming from behind the scenes at Tottenham suggest it wasn’t just the hierarchy that was growing impatient with him – it was his squad as well.

Daily Telegraph sports journalist Matt Law, known as a reliable source when it comes to all things Tottenham, released some damning evidence which only backed up why Spurs were right to get rid of the Great Dane – from all that has been said, it appears as though Frank is a secret Arsenal fan, aligning him and the devil in Tottenham's eyes.

At Spurs, Thomas Frank would go on about Arsenal to the players and they quickly got sick of it.

Before and after the game at the Emirates, he told them how good Arsenal were. The feeling among some players was very much ‘just shut up about Arsenal.’

[@Matt_Law_DT] pic.twitter.com/JGYMuAhS1r

— george (@StokeyyG2) February 11, 2026

Even early in his tenure, Frank used Arsenal, Tottenham’s mortal enemy, as a reference point for where the club should aim to be, a comparison that many got sick of after a short time – no one wants to be compared to a fierce rival at the best of times, let alone on a consistent basis when the club is at its lowest point in decades.

However, this closely held suspicion really made itself felt both before and after Tottenham’s 4-1 trouncing at the hands of the Gunners back in November – both prior to kick-off and after the full-time whistle, Frank repeatedly remarked to his squad and staff about how good Arsenal were.

Per the words of Matt Law, the feeling amongst some was “Just shut up about Arsenal,” and if you were to put yourself in the shoes of any player in the wake of such a damaging defeat, it is hard to disagree with such a sentiment.

And let’s not forget that just a month and a half later, Frank was spotted drinking out of an Arsenal-branded paper cup prior to kick-off at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium. Arsenal had visited the Vitality just three days prior, and allegedly, some of their branded team cups were still lying around in the dressing room and had not been replaced with Spurs-branded ones, leading to Frank unknowingly picking one up and drinking from it.

Thomas Frank photographed drinking from an Arsenal-branded cup at Bournemouth.🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/JfDPAmIUHd

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) January 7, 2026

Well, to drink from an Arsenal cup as a Spurs employee is one sin, but to be photographed with it in hand is entirely another, and it sparked outrage amongst the Spurs fanbase, as well as Arsenal fans claiming him as one of their own, labelling him “a true silver member” of the Gunners. It should come as no surprise that Spurs went on to lose 3-2 to Bournemouth.

Thomas the Frank Engine

The snap of Frank with his Arsenal cup sparked a wave of memes, photoshopped images, and digs at the former Brentford manager, and soon enough, these were widespread across all social media platforms, as is the ritual in modern-day football.

Typically, this type of banter is circulated around fan platforms and nowhere else. However, Frank’s constant talk about Arsenal in both the changing room and in team meetings meant that these jabs at him soon became widely shared between his own staff members and players.

Losing the faith of your backroom team and players in one fell swoop takes some doing, and credit to Frank, he found the most creative and, from a Spurs standpoint, dislikeable way of doing so – even if he had turned the club's form and fortunes around, football fans don’t forget easily and wouldn’t have given him a moment’s peace until he finally took his leave.

Yes, he somehow took the club through to the Champions League round of 16, remarkably bypassing the play-off round despite boasting a hugely inferior squad to those around them, but form was selective – Frank clearly preferred results on the continent to results on home shores.

His focus on Europe has left the club floundering in the Premier League – tipped for a rip-roaring comeback in pre-season, Frank’s leadership has instead seen the club plummet down to 16th, plunging them into an unexpected and unwanted relegation scrap.

As such, he leaves the club, and whichever manager is brave enough to take his spot, with the unenviable task of guiding the club to Premier League safety, as well as competing in the knockout rounds of Europe's fiercest competition – for the next coach, who will likely be brought in on an interim basis, it is a tall task, and one which many would shy away from given all that has happened at the club in the last season and a half.

Frank arguably leaves Tottenham as their most hated manager ever – at least none of the others showed any hint of bias towards age-old enemies – and if he leaves any legacy in north London, it's one that Spurs fans will have nightmares about for months, perhaps years, into the future.

In another time, with a more secure environment, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min in their prime at the club, Frank might have been successful. He certainly showed that he knows what it takes to overperform in the Premier League with Brentford, and it was the resiliency, stubbornness and tactical understanding he showed at the GTech that the Spurs owners, the Lewis family, thought they were getting in the summer.

However, what they got instead was a raft of injuries, constant complaints about said injuries, a coach who may or may not support their most-hated rivals, and a squad and backroom team who readily made fun of him for it – a recipe for disaster at any club anywhere in the world.

Whoever comes next for Tottenham, be it former manager Mauricio Pochettino, ex-striker Robbie Keane, Xavi, Roberto De Zerbi or any other number of currently unemployed managers, won’t face a tough task to be more likeable than Frank – avoid Arsenal, and generally, you’ll be liked just fine.

Thomas Frank when he gets home . pic.twitter.com/zaHoqPZi2V

— Barry 🅰️FC (@BarryArsenal7) February 10, 2026

Still, if Mikel Arteta ever finds himself in hot water at the Emirates, we know exactly who Arsenal should get on the phone …