Why are you drinking from an Arsenal cup Thomas?

Tottenham are dropping points this season faster than their fans are losing patience, so it didn’t take much for the symbolism to draw itself. All it took was one viral photo: Thomas Frank, the Spurs manager, holding a coffee cup with the Arsenal crest on it at Bournemouth’s stadium, just before yet another painful defeat. Of course, it was a coincidence. The cup had been left in the dressing room after Bournemouth’s previous match, played against the Gunners on Saturday—and Thomas drank espresso ritualistically, without even looking. Everything has a perfectly rational explanation. Still, when Tottenham’s dreadful results are added to the wider context, that cup suddenly comes into focus and is given far more attention than it otherwise would.

At a moment when Tottenham look lost, when the season is slipping away and fans are searching for at least a sign that the club is moving in the right direction, a scene appears that perfectly captures the situation: the man who is supposed to lead Spurs toward the light casually sipping coffee from an Arsenal cup. As if the universe itself has a sense of dark humor. Frank, in his remarks, was visibly irritated that he even had to explain such a trivial matter, calling it “a sad sign of the direction football is going.”

“I definitely didn’t notice it. I think it’s fair to say that we don’t win every game, so it would be absolutely, completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal on it. Does anyone really think I would do that? I think it’s a bit sad what direction football is going in if I have to answer a question about holding a cup with another club’s logo. Of course I would never do that intentionally. That would be extremely stupid.”

On the other hand, Frank tried to calm things down after the match, when the angry fans complained to the players:

“I didn’t see the incidents after the game. But it’s normal that everyone is frustrated: the players, the staff, and the fans. We are working hard to turn things in the right direction. In the second half we played well and deserved more. That’s why this is extremely painful” he said.

And, realistically, Tottenham are sending the wrong messages even without cups. The defeat to Bournemouth in stoppage time, the emotional reactions of Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, the frustration boiling in the stands — all of that speaks far louder than a single crest on a cardboard coffee cup. The cup merely became a convenient catalyst. In the end, no serious person will believe that Frank harbors any affection for Arsenal. But in a season in which almost nothing is going right for Spurs, even a harmless mistake looks like a provocation by fate. And Tottenham fans already have enough reason to wonder from whose cup their future is actually being drunk.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 21

Tuesday

West Ham - Nottingham Forest 1-2 (1-0)

/Murillo 13 og - Dominguez 55, Gibbs-White 89 pen/

Wednesday

Bournemouth - Tottenham 3-2 (2-1)

/Evanilson 22, Kroupi 36, Semenyo 90+5 - Tel 5, Palhinha 78/

Brentford - Sunderland 3-0 (1-0)

/Thiago 30, 65, Yarmolyuk 73/

Crystal Palace - Aston Villa 0-0

Everton - Wolverhampton 1-1 (1-0)

/Keane 17 - Mane 69/

Fulham - Chelsea 2-1 (0-0)

/Jimenez 55, Wilson 81 - Delap 72

Man. City - Brighton 1-1 (1-0)

/Haaland 41 pen - Mitoma 60/

Burnley - Man. United 2-2 (1-0)

/Heaven 13 og, Anthony 66 - Sesko 50, 60/

Newcastle - Leeds 4-3 (1-2)

/Barnes 36, 90+12, Joelinton 54, Guimaraes 90+1 pen - Aaronson 32, 79, Calvert-Lewin 45+5 pen/

Thursday

23.00: (1.63) Arsenal (4.20) Liverpool (5.30)

***odds are subject to change***