Eric Dier says Tottenham Hotspur's players only found out they would be changing formation for Sunday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal the day before the game.
Mauricio Pochettino surprised Arsenal by switching to three centre-backs, with Dier and Kevin Wimmer deployed either side of Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker and Danny Rose as wing-backs.
The formation, which the Spurs manager used once last season in a 2-1 win at Watford, helped to unsettle Arsenal in the opening exchanges and provided the visitors with a platform to build from the back -- a feature of Spurs' game that Pochettino said he wanted to improve on before the match.
"The first time we knew about it was Saturday," Dier told Ham and High. "We worked on it in training and we went there and played it. It was probably a good thing because we didn't think too much about it and we just got on with it.
"The manager thought it was best to play this formation and I think it was a risk that shows our character and our attitude -- we're not afraid to do anything and try anything. We did that and I think it paid off.
"Sometimes it's nice to freshen it up, do something different and try something new. We enjoyed it and I think it worked well."
Spurs went into the North London derby without a win in six matches and off the back of Wednesday's disappointing 1-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
However, the draw at Emirates Stadium ensured they remain the only unbeaten team in the Premier League after 11 matches and Dier feels talk of a crisis before the game was overblown.
"People started talking about Tottenham being in crisis during the week -- we haven't lost yet in the Premier League," Dier added. "Obviously the Champions League was very disappointing but I think it's a funny crisis if you're unbeaten in the league."