How Thomas Frank can be Tottenham's secret weapon in north London derby against Arsenal | OneFootball

Dane will experience his first proper north London derby today

The mastermind: Thomas Frank

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Tottenham make the trip to face Arsenal in Thomas Frank's first competitive north London derby this afternoon, before travelling to Paris-Saint Germain on Wednesday night.

Away days at the Premier League leaders and the Champions League holders in the space of three days are not ordinarily relished, but they could be where Frank feels most comfortable.

The Dane's Brentford side were known for punching above their weight against the best sides, Frank effective at devising specific gameplans to frustrate teams with better resources.

If there has been a criticism of Frank during at Spurs so far, it is that there has been a bit too much of that at times. Even when the north Londoners have been favourites, particularly at home, the team have set up with the opposition in mind.

Dominating the ball and breaking down set defences has not come quite so easily to Frank's teams but that will not be required over the next few days.

Starting against the Gunners, Spurs can make it an ugly game. It is likely to prove a break from the north London derby tradition of chaotic, goal-laden matches.

Frank said at his pre-match press conference that he would embrace the chaos but it is easier to imagine a scrappy affair, one where set-pieces at both ends of the pitch will be key. Gabriel's absence will boost Spurs in both boxes.

"I’m pretty sure the bits I’ve done at Brentford have inspired a lot of clubs to focus more on set-pieces," Frank said.

“It is quite interesting that this year I go from Brentford to Tottenham, the spike in focus on set-pieces for all the teams, especially the long throws, is crazy.

“It seems like everyone are very, very focused on them, which we should be. They’re a third of our goals."

Frank's side have the best away record in the Premier League and there has already been proof that these are the kind of games he relishes.

His "special operation" against PSG in the UEFA Super Cup involved a switch to a back three and a long-throw bombardment. Spurs were minutes away from stunning the Champions League winners.

A couple of weeks later, they were superb in a 2-0 win over Manchester City on the road, pressing high across the pitch early in the match and then defending resolutely.

It is hard to read too much into pre-season, but Spurs also limited Arsenal to just a single shot on target when beating them in Hong Kong in the summer.

As Frank said on Friday, this is the "real one" and the biggest test of his tenure so far.

The good news is that his options have been significantly boosted. Mohammed Kudus, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall are all available, while Randal Kolo Muani's jaw injury is not as serious as feared and he could play wearing a mask.

With Archie Gray returning to training along with Ben Davies and Kota Takai, Spurs' injury situation is suddenly looking much more positive.

Frank has only had a couple of days with his players after the international break which will make his tactical task slightly harder, but that is also the case for Arsenal.

Spurs know this is a daunting challenge. They have won just twice away at Arsenal in the Premier League in 33 attempts.

With this the strongest Arsenal squad in potentially two decades, improving on that record will be hugely difficult. Spurs will hope Frank again proves to be the man for the big occasion.