Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists that his side will not be pulling any punches when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby on Thursday.
The Gunners currently hold a four-point lead over Tottenham in the race to finish in the top-four, and can cement ourselves into the group stages of the Champions League with a win tomorrow night.
A draw would leave us in an extremely strong position also however, with a four point gap with just two matches to play, leaving us needing just one win from our two remaining fixtures or for our rivals not to win their two, but a loss would bring a totally different scenario.
Arteta vows that he is telling his players to go out and earn our place tomorrow however, as he wants to win, and is telling his side not to alter their game for the big game.
“The message is clear, if we win against them we are in the Champions League next season,” Arteta exclaimed.
“You don’t need any motivation or to tell them anything more than that. The opportunity is there, we are going to play and go for it like we always do It’s how we have got into this position, and it’s how we are going to approach it.”
This could well be mind games, but at the same time I would be more worried if we was looking to change the way we have been playing as we have enjoyed so much success of late.
If Arteta now lines up with a back five, we will know that his comments were not completely honest as that definitely changes how we play, but it should be for an exciting occasion no matter how the teams do line up because of what is at stake.
Do you think we should be changing our gameplan at all tomorrow? Is the plan likely to change as the game rolls on?
Patrick
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As the game rolls on the coach as usual should alert the team captain and Elneny how they should either adjust, switch positions or continue with their winning game plan. So there must be full communication between the , Captain and then player to be pro-active and pre-emptive.
#Certain players of ours should be earmarked and detailed for Son and Kane. # Son is the highest dodger who scouts for space to freely use for surprise goals.
We never know. Tomorrow, when the game starts, we will see how it pans out. But if Spuds want to come out at us, we should get some joy as well so far we are resolute in defense.
Tomorrow, defense is the key.
I would go for back 5. Even without White we can go with Soares-Tomi-Holding-Gabriel-Tavares. We have to have Tomiyasu strong on the right side of the defence to eliminate Son (and help with Kane). I dont see Soares and Holding being successful against Son, if Tomi goes left. And Son (with Kane) is the only thing we have to worry about. Kulusevski is also decent, but not such a threat. Im sure we can score, but the real challenge is to frustrate hens in front of their crowd with perfect defense. COYG
Back five doesn’t negate playing to win as stated by the coach..
Why should we it’s all or nothing remember.
Reality is Spurs have more to lose in this game they will be more nervous for sure. We lose were still above them with it in our hands, they lose its Europa confirmed.
It’s a cup final and spurs don’t get to them so we don’t know how they’ll perform of we play at that intensity. We’ll see but the boys have to realise they win and the job is done. So fingers crossed