Tudor's Bold Gambit: 13 Players Enough to Stun Arsenal, Says Spurs Boss

Igor Tudor has arrived at Tottenham with an unenviable task: salvage a season spiralling toward relegation while facing the division's in-form leaders in his first match. The interim manager's confidence, however, appears unshaken.

Taking over from Thomas Frank, Tudor inherits a Spurs side crippled by injuries and stranded in 16th place. Yet when asked about Tottenham's Premier League status next season, his answer was unequivocal: "100 per cent."

The scale of the injury crisis facing the former Juventus boss cannot be overstated. With ten players sidelined, Tudor has been forced to prepare for Arsenal's visit with just 13 fit bodies.

Rather than treating this as a handicap, the new Spurs manager frames it as an opportunity. "13 we will have for sure and it's quite enough to achieve what we want on Sunday," he declared.

Tudor acknowledges the enormity of the challenge ahead. The North London Derby carries its own weight, and facing the title-chasing Gunners adds another layer of difficulty. Yet he's already worked to instil a specific mentality within his depleted squad during their initial sessions together.

"What was my goal in these first sessions is that we became a team," Tudor explained. "A team with a really right way of going to war, a team who want to suffer, we need to suffer. To fight, to run, to have the right mentality."

The manager emphasised that his early focus has been on fundamentals beyond the tactical blueprint. "It's not only football, it's not only about that, it's about a clear idea of what we want to do," he said.

Tudor has been working on specifics both with and without possession—pressing triggers, defensive shape, and attacking principles—but recognises that mentality must come first. "The people come before the football player," he stressed.

Despite the grim circumstances surrounding his appointment, Tudor appears determined to prove that even a squad operating at severely reduced capacity can compete against even the strongest opposition.