Mikel Arteta has sent a message to Thomas Frank after the Dane was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, with the Arsenal manager speaking highly of his former rival
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has extended his sympathies to Thomas Frank following Tottenham’s decision to sack him on Wednesday morning.
Arteta addressed the media ahead of his side’s trip to Brentford on Thursday, a matter of hours after Spurs confirmed they were parting ways with Frank. The successor to Frank will face a baptism of fire in the form of the North London Derby against Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this month.
Before that clash, however, Arsenal have three fixtures to navigate – a visit to Brentford, Frank’s old stomping ground, on Thursday, followed by a FA Cup fourth round tie against Wigan Athletic on Sunday and a rescheduled game against Wolves at Molineux next Wednesday.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Ahead of his side’s trip to Brentford, Arteta delivered his reaction to Frank’s departure from Tottenham. In his pre-match press conference, the Spaniard said: “Well, always very sad news when you have a colleague that doesn’t continue doing his job, because Thomas is an excellent coach, he’s an extraordinary man as well, and he’s proven that in the league.
“We know where we are. We know that our responsibility is beyond just performance. That sometimes results dictate what happens with us. We wish him all the very best for whatever he decides to do next.”
Arteta has previously spoken highly of Frank before facing his Brentford side in April last year. When asked about his respect for him, the Arsenal boss responded: “A lot. More than respect, probably it’s admiration.
“He’s done it with a football club where everybody shares the vision, they have a very clear identity. It’s a club, a team that we can learn a lot from because the way they did it is very, very clever, in my opinion, and then the way the model has sustained and evolved as well is really well timed.”
Frank also had words of praise for Arsenal and Arteta back in November. He said: “I think it’s a good example of a club that sticks to the process.
“I know it’s me in charge, but there are so many more people working, and sticking to what we believe in over a longer period. I think six years, it’s very rare you get that long in football.
“I also think it’s fair to say that it took probably three seasons for Arteta. So in the fourth season, that’s where he competed, now he’s in the seventh season. So he’s really, really ready to compete in his fourth season. So he took over, then two full seasons, and then the fourth one.
“So I think that’s how you should see it. And then we know the difference between having ultimate success to win something or not is like this, and you need margins. But the process is the most important thing.”
Frank was just shy of eight months into his tenure before being shown the door. His record stood at 13 wins, 11 draws, and 14 losses from 38 matches.
The most recent of these losses, against Newcastle United on Tuesday, left Tottenham in the 16th position in the Premier League table. They are currently five points ahead of the relegation zone.