Match Previews

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur; Premier League Match Preview

If last weekend was the “ultimate gut check” this weekend becomes the ultimate test for Arsenal and their Champion’s League qualification hopes. Last week Arsenal needed a win in any way possible to stop the rot from horrid performances in both the FA Cup and the Champion’s League. Now, a with Tottenham, everyone’s league darlings, on the card, a true test of where Arsenal really are is on the cards.

by
DaAdminGooner
March 1, 2013

London Derby’s haven’t meant much over the last few years except bragging rights. There have neither been titles on the line or silverware to be had. Just which club rules the roost for a season with bragging rights. Now there is more at stake. In addition to the normal bragging rights, the winner of this match gains the upper hand on qualification for Europe.

It’s not an easy task for either team as they are both in decent form in the league. Arsenal are on consistent role digging out wins and Tottenham are surviving on the foot of Gareth Bale. Both teams have put themselves in contention for qualification.

This match is admittedly scary for Arsenal fans. Never before in the history of Wenger’s reign as manager has a Tottenham side finished above his club. The way things have spelled out this season, if Arsenal drop important points, it is likely the Middlesex team could finally achieve that feat.

What further makes this worrying is that Arsene Wenger has come out today and pointedly said they have done nothing special to prepare for Gareth Bale. Arsene wants his side to focus on doing their jobs and playing their game. On the surface its commendable in reality it seems a little half assed and worrisome.

Part of any team’s preparation should be knowing your opposition’s strengths and limiting them. In this case – Gareth Bale. It is imperative he not be given room to operate and better still get the ball away on his preferred left foot. If Arsenal aren’t even the slightest prepared to snuff him out then they could very well be on the outside looking in on this match.

Tottenham have shown so far they are very thing without Bale. Everything goes to the Welshman because they have no one else who can score right now. Former Arsenal front man Emmanuel Adebayor continues to show why it was good business to let him go. DeFoe is hurt and is likely to miss out on this match. There may be some concern from newly acquired Lewis Holtby who caused Arsenal problems when he played for Schalke but in the end it all comes down to Bale.

A win for Arsenal would be huge. Because it would create doubt in Tottenham, it would likely revive and energize a fan base and it would also add confidence to a squad shorn of it recently.

Doing the double on Tottenham this season would be the best we could hope for in a season of so much strife and with arguably Arsenal’s worst squad in recent memory. The fact that they are still within a sniff of the hallowed ground of Champion’s League qualification either speaks loads about Wenger’s managerial experience or the paltry makeup of the Premier League this season. It all depends on which way you swing.

The North London Derby is in my opinion more classic than El Classico or Manchester United v Liverpool. United Liverpool is product of the era of United’s run on Liverpool’s history records. El Classico is too many theatrics for my liking.

But the North London Derby in the first division goes back to 4 December 1909 with Arsenal winning 1-0 (GET IN!) It is steep in animosity directly related to the move to Highbury in 1914. When as the myth goes Arsenal moved 4 miles away from Tottenham in North London. Except what people miss is that Middlesex of where White Hart Lane is, was not officially part of the London city limits until 1965. But I digress.

The bitterness between the two has in my opinion subsided on the pitch as players seem more “familiar” to each other. Gone are the days of Adams pinning Parlour up against a wall (hand on his throat) to drive home how important winning the NLD is.

Don’t get me wrong, it is still very important to the supporters but neither side seems to come at each other with the fire of years past.

So it all comes down to this. Questions are everywhere. Can Arsenal pull it together and tighten up their shoddy defense? Will Bale be called on to rescue Tottenham again? Can either team finish the other off emphatically with each side having deep deficiencies?

Well, the answer will be had on Sunday won’t it?

How the match should play out:

Tottenham lined up at a 4-4-2 at the Emirates to take advantage of the duo of DeFoe and Adebayor and it looked a good bet except when Adebayor does what Adebayor can do and makes himself bigger than the game. It all went downhill from there. The question is with it likely that DeFoe won’t feature in this match, how does Tottenham line up? Arsenal have the ability to boss the midfield and create havoc especially without Sandro sitting deep protecting the back line. They must take this advantage and stretch the field to create opportunities. Calls for Santi out wide and bringing in Rosicky wouldn’t be bad but knowing Wenger, unlikely. Whatever the lineup it is imperative for Arsenal to get on the front foot early and not get off it. Both sides have issues, Arsenal defensively make every the most stout supporter cringe and Tottenham just don’t have the talent in the midfield to control games, letting their opponents stay with them. In the end it will be a hard fought performance but I firmly see a draw.

Players to Watch:

Arsenal. Santi Cazorla. While his form has been up and down, he seems to be more up lately as he finds his legs in the Premier League. His performance against Villa (not only the goals) highlighting how good he can be.

Tottenham. Emmanuel Adebayor. Bale would be the obvious answer because of his form. But I am going with Adebayor because the Tongolese forward in his desire to show he was “right to leave Arsenal” has done something pretty stupid each time he faces them.

Projected Lineups