Arsenal do not need to win the derby by Sam P
I am feeling quite good about Arsenal going to White Hart Lane tomorrow to face Spurs. They might be in a decent run of form themselves but they are not at the same level as Arsenal have been since the turn of the year. They may have beaten Chelsea on new years day and scraped past League One Sheffield United to reach the cup final, but they also got knocked out of the FA cup at home and have drawn with Burnley and lost to Crystal Palace in the league.
Arsenal on the other hand have been going from strength to strength since the wake up call away to Southampton on new years day, winning five in a row including that hugely morale boosting win away to Man City. Having said all that, I do not think we should be disappointed if we do not win the derby, as long as we don’t lose it.
With Alexis Sanchez out of action with his minor hamstring problem and players like Welbeck, Walcott and Ozil perhaps not fully match fit, a fair amount of our attacking threat could be missing. The Spurs players and fans will no doubt be well up for it and I think we could face a bit of an onslaught, so the name of the game will be to hold and hopefully hit them on the break.
A point would be a good one for Arsenal as it would keep our local rivals beneath us with their next game being away to Liverpool. And it would take us above Southampton and Man United in the table. That could add a little pressure and possibly help West Ham and QPR to do us a favour. Would you be happy with a draw tomorrow?
With form we’re in? Only a win is acceptable.
I’m confident we will too.
COYG!
Though a draw is not a bad result,we must not go into the game with the sole intent of a draw cos that may encourage the Spurs to bombard us…this is a winnable game if we get our tactics right
Of course we want & will set out to win the game tomorrow but given our run of fixtures coming up in the next 7/8 games, honestly believe a draw is not a bad result tomorrow. Either way COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!
A draw wount be gud enough for dis game nd any other game,we need to imbibe dat winning mentality of a big club,nt hoping for a draw or a slim defeat against other big teams,wil it be an offence if we win our remaining 15 epl matches or win all our ucl nd fa cup matches? So bring on the spuds cause the absense of alexis nd chambo wnt stop a 3-0 drubbing for dos chickens
WE ARE IN IT TO WIN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are all guilty of underestimating how difficult it is to win away from home – we see it every season but it still doesn’t seem to register. Man C have only won 58% of their away games, and Chelski, allegedly the greatest team of the modern age, have won just 50%. Even the Invincibles drew 12 games! An away win at WHL would for me be the best result for a long time – more so than the City game, because there are more angles to this fixture. Winning at WHL will be mental reinforcement after the City game, it will say that City performance was not a “one-off”, we have had too many false dawns before. It also comes at a pivotal moment in the season – it just feels like a watershed weekend for lots of teams for many different reasons; this is the beginning of the squeaky bum run-in. It will also be another “one-man team” rebuff – personally not really worried about it but would be nice just to make them stfu. And lastly this is the spuds – and they are up for it big time, I mean really massively so – beating them in their yard when they are just getting their hopes up (so unrealistically) would be SSOOOOOOO SWEET. But honestly, I’d take a draw now rather than over work my defibulator on Saturday.
I agree with you Jonestown1. Winning at the Lane will be making a statement that the City win was not a fluke. The fear factor will then start to creep in. We MUST keep it solid and compact for the first 15-20 minutes and take any half chances we get. I foresee a slim win by a goal. Probably 2-1. Hope I’m wrong though and we run riot at the Lane.
City won 58% of their away games, have you looked at their home statistics? 7/11 wins, 63%. The difference between home and away matches is less than ever before. Only Stamford Bridge is a true fortress, with 10/11 wins.
However, We’ve only won 5/12 away matches this season, so it will indeed be a hard match – but NLD doesnt really seem to differentiate between Emirates and White Heart Lane.
Again negative approach is not good. let us win.
I’m sorry, but if we want to consider ourselves as a ‘title-contending’ side, a draw is never acceptable, to any team! Its obvious we will draw a few games here and there, but we can accept it, but not think of it as a good result…
Honestly, I want a win and that’s all I’m looking at. If the result is different then we can look at that after the match. I feel positive. Why?
1. We are on a winning streak
2. We have a relatively healthy squad (obvious exceptions Sanchez, Debuchy, Arteta). But have almost everyone else.
3. We just won a home game without Sanchez 5-0
4. We have more talented players than Spurs. (The only Spurs players that are good enough for us I guess would be Lloris, Erickson and Vertonghen). Even Giroud is better than Soldado and Adebayor.
I think we can win and we should go in there with positive attitude and heart.
The reason a Win is important
1. We obviously want to beat Spuds badly.
2. 4th place is not guaranteed. We need to Win as many matches as possible. Being out of top 4 would be devastating.
3. 3rd and 2nd place is not impossible. Mathematically 1st is not impossible, but we won’t get there without winning
4. We are already on a winning streak with FA Cup and CL matches within weeks. We should continue our winning streak as long as possible to show that we are a top team.
5. If we lose, Spuds are ahead of us. If we draw, Spuds are still just behind us. If we win we create a 5 point cushion.
We can Win
COYG
0-3 Arsenal
I always find it funny when managers or pundits come out saying “this is a must win game”. Honestly, all games are must win games—unless you are leading the league by 10+ points, which we are not in a position of—so any results besides a win is pretty much bad.
The issue with the NLD isn’t just for 3 points, its a potential 5 pointer. Winning this will give us a “game in hand” over spurs for the rest of the season, and in a time when most of the other top 7 teams are also in good form, we can’t afford to not win.