Arsenal may be a more settled team than our north London rivals Tottenham, with more talented and experienced players like Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla, but we have to earn the right to play.
Some people say that the form book goes out the window in a local derby and although that may be an over simplification, there is an element of truth in it. You expect both sets of players to give it their all as a bare minimum requirement and after that you hope that your creative players can work their magic.
For a large part of tomorrow’s game it will be a battle with very little time on the ball and don’t make the mistake of thinking they will be a pushover. They do have players that can hurt us, so we need to control the game as much as possible. In another game that would mean Mikel Arteta passing them off the pitch, but tomorrow it calls for the energy, tackling and work rate of Flamini. Alongside Ramsey, the Frenchman should provide solid protection to our back four and the ability to combat Tottenham’s powerful central midfielders.
With that platform to build on, Arsenal should be able to break down their defence and really get the season off and running. How do you see the game going Gooners?