Every year Tottenham and Arsenal battle it out for the title of Kings Of North London, and Arsene Wenger had never lost that race until last season, when Mauriccio Pochettino finally got his Tottenham side above us and into the Champions League at our expense.
Now with just 12 games remaining in this campaign the Spuds are just 4 points ahead of us, and Saturday’s game is a veritable six-pointer if ever there was one and the Gunners will either drop away from our rivals or end up just one point behind, giving us every right to be confident of overtaking them before the end.
Arsenal’s new arrival’s and our empty treatment table must give us a boost, especially after last week’s demolition of Everton, but the reality is that we are playing away from the Emirates where our form has been worse than miserable. So let’s take a quick look at our last six away games…
Sun 10/12/17 PRL Southampton 1 – 1 Arsenal
Wed 13/12/17 PRL West Ham United 0 – 0 Arsenal
Thu 28/12/17 PRL Crystal Palace 2 – 3 Arsenal
Sun 31/12/17 PRL West Bromwich 1 – 1 Arsenal
Sun 14/01/18 PRL AFC Bournemouth 2 – 1 Arsenal
Tue 30/01/18 PRL Swansea City 3 – 1 Arsenal
That makes grim reading, especially when we all know we are brilliant when we play at home. Hopefully our new signings will not have the lack of confidence that our usual players do when they are away….
But even if we were on our best form, we should still be worried about facing Tottenham at Wembley. The Spuds haven’t lost any of their last 11 League games, but at Wembley they have been very formidable. Let’s look at their last six….
Sat 09/12/17 PRL Tottenham Hotspur 5 – 1 Stoke City
Wed 13/12/17 PRL Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Brighton
Tue 26/12/17 PRL Tottenham Hotspur 5 – 2 Southampton
Thu 04/01/18 PRL Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 1 West Ham United
Sat 13/01/18 PRL Tottenham Hotspur 4 – 0 Everton
Wed 31/01/18 PRL Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Manchester United
Just the fact that they beat Man United in their last one (and followed up with a draw at Liverpool) should be a worry enough, but the fact is that they haven’t lost a home League game since Chelsea won there at the beginning of the season -back in August!
But of course we have to take into account that this is the big derby and anything can happen. Also Arsenal have an amazing record at Wembley, having stayed unbeaten in 10 Cup Finals, semifinals and Community Shields, so you could imagine we were playing at home!
This could be a nervous affair as both teams know how important it is to the fans, and especially to the race for the Champions League places. Wenger normally gets his players highly motivated for games like these, so I am hopeful he can work his magic again this time.
Let’s mash those Spuds!!!!
COYG!
For once I’m optimistic. For Arsenal away against a quality side, I’d usually expect another horror show. In fact, Arsenal away against ANY team is something to worry about! But we know the players will be up for it, we were excellent in beating them earlier in the season, and we always perform well at Wembley. Our new signings were brilliant as well against Everton, which gives me more hope than usual.
I am going for a score draw (if I was betting), but I think Arsenal can finally turn their horrific away form around, so a win could be on the cards.
In attack we are pretty much even
Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Welbeck, Iwobi, Lacazette
VS
Ericksen, Lamela, Moura, Llorente, Son, Alli and Kane
They are better than us in Central Midfield
Wanyama, Sissoko, Dembele, Dier
VS
Xhaka, Wilshere, Ramsey, Eleny
They beat us in defense
Lloris, Vorm, Alderwield, Vertonghen, Aurier, Danny Rose, Trippier, Kyle-Walker, Davies
VS
Cech, Ospina, Koscielny, Mustafi, Bellerin, Kolsanic, Monreal, Debuchy, Holding, Chambers
But it’s all about the lineup on the day and how we play on the day.
Hopefully we will win. We need to win more than they do
They beat us in every position.
I expect them to win comfortably
They are abit jaded after the FA cup replay..
If we can take the lead…we stand a good chance
That’s what I’m hoping for too.
We had the benefit of having a full week’s rest.
Everyone will need to be on top form
Also, Wenger can’t afford to experiment or mess up lineup ie No Iwobi or Eleny or Welbeck. Also, i would play 4 defenders
But we def can win it
Add they played on Sunday as well 3 games in 6 days
Spurs are favourites.
Our players will be up for it, but i’m worried about formation and tactics. Spurs are very organised and drilled and will exploit arsenals weaknesses in midfield and defence. Arsenal are just too open on the road.
Spurs 3 – 1 Arsenal
They played a virtual reserve side in midweek, don’t let ’em use that as an excuse.
No key players from their likely line up against us actually played last night. First thing I looked out for. Just Son, who may or may not start against us.
Spurs were lucky to draw with Liverpool. Also, important to remember we have a decent record at Wembley, 3 FA cup wins in the last 4 years…it really depends on who turns up. Spurs can be just as erratic as us, but if we kick on with our new signings we can definitely get the win.
It all depends on what team starts and how they start the game
For me
Check ( although we need a go)
Bellerin mustafi Kos Mon
AMN Wilshire
Ozil
Iwobi Miki
Auba
High energy pressing
But Xhaka and Ramsey will start
Xhaka will be sold if ANY other manager takes over
When you look st those results… we really have been crap!!
It’s a NLD….we usually play well at Wembley…. come on Arsenal let’s do them!!!
Spurs have played well in the mid-field in the last two big games (Manchester United and Liverpool) but have actually been poor in attack. A better attack would have beaten Manchester United with more than 4 goals given the dominance on the day but Spurs were very careless and jaded in the final third. Against Liverpool, they also dominated the midfield in the second half but created little in front of goal. I expect the consecutive big games to get them tired, and should they be poor in attack as the were in the last two EPL games, then Arsenal has a very good chance to leave with a win.
How does Iwobi start in front of Lacazette? What is the problem with Kolasinac; how does he go from Bundesliga team of the year to a bench player for Arsenal?
I’m surprised that people here are underestimating spurs again. Are we forgetting our poor record against them recently, keeping in mind our atrocious away form? Yes, we won at home against them this season. Yes, we have been great at Wembley, but I am very worried about this match. They may have had a busier schedule than us, but Arsenal rarely take advantage of such situations. Which Arsenal will show up, the one that beat Chelsea in Carabao or the one that got beaten by Swansea? That should be our biggest concern.
And Arsenal lost the game
Xhaka is useless!