Igor Tudor urges Tottenham players to be 'brave' in north London derby against Arsenal

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·22 February 2026

Igor Tudor urges Tottenham players to be 'brave' in north London derby against Arsenal

Igor Tudor takes charge of Tottenham for the first time

Igor Tudor has implored his Tottenham side to be brave and said they will play for the win ahead of this afternoon’s north London Derby.

The Croatian is taking charge of his first game as Spurs manager since replacing Thomas Frank at the helm last week.

Spurs are currently 16th in the Premier League table, four points above the relegation zone and without a league win in 2026.

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They take on league leaders Arsenal, looking for just their third home league win of the season, and Tudor has admitted his side needs to play with belief at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“I want to see all the things we were working on this week, of course. Courage, to be brave, also to play with a clear idea, which of course needed more time. But I'm sure that's something we'll see, because it's always happened,” Tudor told Sky Sports.

“So we need to be brave, but also smart in the same way, to understand the moment, but also believe that we are playing at home. So we'll play for a win, we'll play for a win. As I said, they are playing at home, Tottenham, but there's only one win since the opening day of the season in the Premier League.”

In Tudor’s first game in charge, Spurs are looking to put daylight between themselves and the relegation zone, with the 47-year-old adamant the club will avoid demotion to the Championship for the first time in the Premier League era