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Jamie O’Hara labels Tottenham ‘shocking’ in Arsenal defeat

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Nov 25, 2025 11:28 AM ET

TalkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara felt his former club Tottenham were shocking in the 4-1 North London derby defeat to Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur had a very bad day in the office against Arsenal on Sunday. They were smashed 4-1 by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium, with Eberechi Eze grabbing the headlines with a hat-trick.

Thomas Frank adopted a defensive approach in the game, starting with three centre-backs. Kevin Danso was brought in to partner Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in central defence, but the back three system played into the hands of Arsenal. Spurs went in at the break trailing Mikel Arteta’s side 2-0 and immediately conceded a third after re-emerging for the second half en route to a 4-1 humbling.

Major questions have been asked about Thomas Frank and his tactics since the loss in the North London derby. Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy felt Tottenham would have been hugely disappointed by the manner in which they tasted defeat to Arsenal. All-time record Premier League goalscorer Alan Shearer was critical of Frank’s approach and tactics, as the Lilywhites offered nothing last weekend.

Jamie O’Hara felt Tottenham were “shocking” in the North London derby

Tottenham were so poor that they had no shots in the first half against Arsenal. This stat had left Jamie O’Hara in total disbelief, with the former Spurs midfielder erupting on his X account.

On Monday, Jamie O’Hara had joined Jason Cundy on the TalkSPORT show. He was asked about Tottenham’s display in the North London derby by Cundy. The TalkSPORT pundit was visibly furious over his former club’s display and also questioned Frank’s coaching ability.

“We were shocking at the weekend. Everyone saw it was there for everyone to see the manager got it wrong, the players had no fight, there was no real sort of passion to go and win the game right.

“We’re miles off it and now we’re starting to, you know, you start questioning Thomas Frank as a manager.”

Frank needs time to put the house in order

Tottenham were in complete disarray last season, which is why the board decided to sack Ange Postecoglou despite him winning the Europa League. The north Londoners had their worst-ever season in the top flight, finishing 17th in the table. Winning the Europa League was a mega achievement and subsequently punched their Champions League ticket, but domestically Spurs were simply awful.

To put things into context, Frank certainly deserves time to fix what was broken. The Dane has made an encouraging start to the season and has tried to battle with the growing injury list. However, meek performances in defeats to London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal has led to many questioning his safety-first approach and defensive tactics, including O’Hara.

The 52-year-old has a huge rebuilding job in his hands and it will take a lot of time to put the house in order in N17. After last term’s persistent struggles, even a mid-table finish would be considered an improvement.

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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