Arsenal and Tottenham are just 48 hours away from the massive North London Derby at the Emirates, and a lot of pundits and even Gooners are speculating that the Spuds have now overtaken us as the best team in North London. Well Arsene Wenger begs to differ, and says his team will prove who is the strongest on Saturday. “No, not at all,” Le Prof said. “Tottenham are a good side but we have the quality to win this game and that is what we want to show. One way to answer is on the pitch. We have no fear; we are focused on nullifying their strong points and expressing our strong points.
“It is a good opportunity to show we are the strongest. We’ll see at the end of the season. The real motivation is to do as well as our potential. The target is not to compare to Tottenham.”
And Wenger still thinks that last season was a success, despite finishing below Tottenham for the first time in his Arsenal career. “It was a big disappointment to finish outside the top four. It was the first time in the history of the Premier League that a team with 75 points finished outside of top four. I still feel it was very harsh on us. People forget we won the FA Cup in a very stylish way against City in the semi and Chelsea in the final.
“The overall achievement was quite positive, even if there was disappointment not to finish in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.”
It does annoy me that so many people are writing us off, even the keyboard warriors on JustArsenal, but the game is never over until the fat lady sings, and I’m sure she won’t be singing Tottenham’s praises after the game!
Come on You Gunners!
Sam P
come on Tottenham are by far ahead of us
3× the defence
twice the midfield
6× the attack
I feel we will only be playing for a draw
They are not man for man.
Our problems?
Tactics, selection and playing the boys out of positions.
We have quality 11 players to handle Sp*ds. We are winning depending on Arsene mood before and during the match. Hope he will be professional.
Although I want us to beat the spuds I can’t help but have a few doubts. If we do win I’ll hold my hands up & say I should have had more faith in my team…it’s always the games I expect them to win that they don’t. The NLD was always a game I thought we’d win, but not anymore!
I agree with you… and right from the starting lineups I will know how we will end up after 90 min. Not very optimistic about Wenger, and not in half of the players 🙁
NLD has never been a straightforward game. Even the invincibles drew 2 – 2 with Spurs in the second league meeting of that season (confirming the league win). I also remember the 5 -4 win which was a roller coaster game.
The insipid performances of Arsenal in matches lost or drawn is not because Arsenal players man – for- man are inferior to players of those teams . Mancity are not better man – for – man but the problem in Arsenal is that of managing the players as well as match management . Against Spurs for example , what preparation has the manager made in terms of SWOT analysis of the opponents ? You need to know the strength and weaknesses of your opponents , neutralize their strength and exploit their weaknesses. Look at your own weakness too and mitigate the threat of your opponents. That is what astute managers do hence Watford and Crystal Palace find it easy to beat Arsenal ! Arsene picks players on sentiment and does not touch some of these players no matter their poor performances.Spurs play direct attacking football with intensity ,running ,running ,while Arsenal must play the Arsenal way ,passing sideways and backwards because nobody wants to run with the ball even with acres of space on the wings ! Wenger sits down watching from the beginning to the end , no technical input from the technical area.
Wenger on Saturday may bench players that can score goals so that his favourites will play ,or he may pick good players and play them out of position! There must be fast wing play and less sideways and back passes that allow defenders ,8or 9 to choke the opponents’ goal mouth to beat Spurs. No high defense line also because Spurs play long balls to Kane and other attackers who are willing to run .
What is the physical condition of the players? We saw how Mancity players who played mid week in the Champions League played with more intensity than Arsenal players that did nothing in mid week as different players were involved in Europa League . These are the issues. I am not optimistic of a win. I will be happy with a draw not because Spurs have better players but because of Wenger that is no more capable of getting the best out of the stars in Arsenal.
What Wenger thinks doesn’t really hold much interest for me, anymore. It seems to be changing with the weather. When he told, he had signed a contract for another 2 years, he also said “I want to put things right”. Apparently he knew something wasn’t right. So far nothing much has changed, except maybe we are now slightly worse.
But the match will be exciting, I think.
Love the team but words from AW lost all credibility, for me.
Don’t be surprised to see his usual hide-in-shell 4-5-1 formation. And Coquelin, a must have as well. Questionable selection as always and Lacazette will be smelling the bench for sure, one way or the other.
At best a draw….
What we need is commitment and spirit from the players -whoever plays. If the 11 guys give their best, we can beat Spurs
“Arsenal are quality and will prove we are stronger than Tottenham”
Articles with these titles make me laugh
Really? Where was the quality against Stoke, Watford, Liverpool, City? Lol we have lost so many games that I’ve already lost count