Tottenham’s summer transfer window was marked by a series of near misses, leaving fans and pundits alike to wonder what might have been. Eberechi Eze was one of the players who slipped through their fingers, opting to join Arsenal instead. Similarly, a deal that seemed almost certain for Bryan Mbeumo ultimately saw him head to Manchester United.

This sense of missed opportunities set the stage for the north London derby at the Emirates on Sunday, where a close call might have been the best Spurs could hope for. However, Thomas Frank, in his first derby as Tottenham’s manager, watched his team unravel before his eyes. The outcome was swift and clear-cut, leaving little room for interpretation.

One veteran analyst, with deep ties to the club, did not mince words, labeling the performance as “disgraceful.”

In the executive boxes, where former legends and dignitaries of this historic rivalry gathered, the atmosphere was somber. It was evident to all that Tottenham appeared unprepared, seemingly resigned to a defeat that they ultimately suffered.

Among the notable attendees was George Graham, who at nearly 81, has managed both clubs. He likely recognized the identity of one side but not the other. This identity crisis is at the heart of Tottenham’s current issues as they face a crucial fortnight under Frank’s leadership.

Thomas Frank looked bewildered after Tottenham’s loss to Arsenal and it’s hard to know what his team is meant to represent 

His team were dreadful, weak, and submissive and played without much genuine belief

The looming Champions League clash with PSG on Wednesday already carries an ominous weight. Following that, Tottenham will host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday night, which leads into a midweek trip to Newcastle. They will then return home to face Brentford, a club where Frank previously made his mark.

That reputation was one of a doer, an organiser and a leader. Frank, a Dane courted by both Chelsea and Manchester United in recent times, took hold of Brentford and made them credible, respected and formidable – especially at home. We knew what they were.

Further north at Tottenham, Frank’s task is to move to the next level and it is to be hoped that he succeeds. Given time he may well do so. He is bright and clever and tougher than he looks.

Nevertheless, Tottenham is not Brentford. It’s different. Different forces are at play. And when he walked into the interview room at the Emirates after Sunday’s 4-1 defeat, he looked a little bewildered, suddenly a small man in a very big room. That’s what bad results can do.

Asked what had gone wrong, he gulped and half smiled and wondered out loud where he should start. It was classic Frank. Self-deprecating and honest. But at the same time it didn’t go any way to hide the meekness of a performance that prompted goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to apologise for a lack of fight.

When the season started with a home win over Burnley and a victory away at Manchester City, there were those at Tottenham who rather patronisingly compared the style of play to Frank’s Brentford. Long-throws, set pieces and fast, direct counter attacks. Now, just three league wins and four defeats later, Spurs fans don’t even have that to cling to.

Tottenham at Arsenal were dreadful. Weak and submissive and seemingly without the will or method to get up the field. Frank’s decision to play five across the back spoke of a nervousness and a lack of genuine belief and that was how his team played. Arsenal’s final goal – Eze’s third of the day – began with a Tottenham throw-in deep inside their opponents’ half. With nobody willing or available to receive it, the ball ended up with the goalkeeper and – subsequently lost on the back of a hopeful punt up field – was in the back of his net soon after.

Asked about this, Frank didn’t deem it significant. He said it would only be a bad sign had the score been 0-0 or 0-1. The insinuation was that the game was already gone so it didn’t really matter.

Arsenal blew his team apart and Frank was unable to provide any answers at full time 

Their expensive summer signings have showed promise but lacked significant end product

But he’s wrong about that. At a big club like Spurs – eighth on the Forbes rich list now their new stadium is fully bedded in – all the details matter and at the moment Frank’s team are coming out on the wrong side of too many.

Against Chelsea at home, Tottenham managed only one shot on target and, in losing 1-0, finished the game with an XG (expected goals) of 0.05. Against Manchester United, they led 2-1 seven minutes into added time against ten men and conceded an equaliser to an unmarked player at a corner.

Away from home they have been a little better, adding wins at Everton, Leeds and West Ham to that early scalping of City at the Etihad.

But currently Tottenham are trending backwards with those fans not arguing that Frank is the wrong man preferring to ask questions once again of the club’s recruitment.

Injuries are hurting Spurs for sure. Centre forward Dominic Solanke is missing while so too is the club’s best player Dejan Kulusevski and the talented James Maddison. But what is to be made of summer signings such as Xavi Simons, Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus, three young forward players who cost £150m and have so far contributed three league goals between them? That’s the same number as central defender Micky van de Ven has scored on his own.

Simons and Tel are only 22 and 20 years of age. They are young players who may improve. But a Tottenham policy of buying young emerging talent – led by joint sporting directors Johan Lange and Fabio Paratici – has to pay off at some stage because Frank’s team need some oven-ready top-flight players right now.

Last season, as manager Ange Postecoglou struggled under a weight of a huge injury list, a previous batch of future stars – Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, Lucas Bergvall and Mikey Moore – came to the fore and did well in patches. Perhaps understandably, their impact has waned a little. Indeed 18-year-old Moore – a rare ray of hope from the Spurs academy – is currently on loan at Rangers.

Frank has already referenced Postecoglou’s 17th placed finish last season as a reason to feel some progress has been made and – with Spurs in mid-table – it should not be dismissed. Postecoglou’s brand of explosive chaos could not go on.

Frank deserves credit for improving on Ange Postecoglou’s chaos but needs to prove that he can sustain an upgrade; his plan has been murky so far 

The challenge for Frank now is to prove he can bring an upgrade that sustains. There have been some moments of clarity, days when a plan appeared to be forming. A solid base, some counter-attack football. But there has been no consistency and that’s killing him.

At the moment it’s neither old school Brentford or classic Tottenham or anything much in between. On Sunday on a dark winter’s day at the Emirates, it was hard to know what it was and that’s a bit of a worry.