The China Mail - Arsenal boss Arteta lauds 'extraordinary' Frank after Spurs axe

Frank was dismissed after just eight months in charge following a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle on Tuesday, which left Spurs just five points above the Premier League relegation zone and without a win in their past eight top-flight games.

League leaders Arsenal visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a north London derby a week on Sunday.

"It is always very sad news when you have a colleague that doesn't continue doing his job because Thomas is an excellent coach, he's an extraordinary man, and he's proven that in the league," said Arteta.

The Spaniard, speaking ahead of Thursday's match at Brentford -- the club Frank managed before joining Spurs in June -- added: "But we know where we are.

"We know that our responsibility is beyond just performance. And results dictate what happens with us."

The 52-year-old Frank became the seventh Premier League manager to lose his job so far this campaign, with former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou lasting just 39 days at Nottingham Forest.

Arteta, asked if Premier League clubs are now too impatient for success, replied: "In the context of every club it is very different, but it's always a possibility.

"But at the end as well, this league is so competitive. We are all vulnerable because anybody can beat you on the day, you know that. And that's really tough to manage."

Harry Redknapp, meanwhile, said he would be delighted to return to Spurs amid suggestions he could act as a caretaker boss, but the 78-year-old Englishman won't be expecting a call.

Redknapp was Tottenham manager from 2008-2012, taking the club into the Champions League.

"Would I fancy it? Of course I would do it, without any shadow of a doubt," he told Sky Sports News.

"But I am a realist -- I don't live in (cloud) cuckoo land. It is very doubtful if I would get the job. But could I do the job? Yeah, of course I could do the job."

E.Choi--ThChM