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| Preview: Arsenal vs Tottenham |
In Arsene’s 18-year stretch at Arsenal he has seen 9 Spurs managers come and go. None of which have beaten any of Arsene’s sides at the first time of asking with Wenger having won six and drawing three. But can Mauricio Pochettno break this?
The odds look against the Spurs manager with Arsenal having won five of their last six North London derbies against them.
A 1-0 flop at the hands of West Brom last weekend may just have dented the confidence of Spurs players, but with a win against Nottingham Forest in the Capital One Cup as well as Arsenal being knocked out by Southampton may have restored it or even boosted it further.
Although, recent form often goes out the window when the North London derby arrives. Both teams set out for nothing less than a victory, a fair share of goals is bound to happen. Arsenal however do look like a better formed squad and should prevail in this match-up.
Arsenal clearly have a better squad than that of last seasons. A loss at the hands of Southampton may just fuel a rebellion for the match against their North London rivals. Arsenal will expect to control the possession, although with Spurs potentially playing a similar 4-2-3-1 defensive lapses from Arsenal cannot occur otherwise the Gunners will be left too vulnerable to a quick Tottenham counter-attack.
Wenger has restored the 4-2-3-1 formation giving Mesut Ozil the all important central attacking midfield role which he proved worthy of in last weekends match at Villa Park. He demonstrated just why he is a world-class player with his high quality awareness and vision, his link-up play with new boy Danny Welbeck also proving to be a deadly force.
Wojciech Szczesny will be set to return to the Arsenal goal after an average performance from David Ospina in the loss against Southampton.
At the back Calum Chambers is most likely to be the replacement for injured Mathieu Debuchy which could be a common theme for Arsenal until the January transfer window. Hector Bellerin another possibility may feature on the bench and could make an appearance dependant on the way things are going. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny will make an almost definite return to the back four with Kieran Gibbs potentially filling the final left-back position with Nacho Monreal struggling from a back problem.
As for the Midfield the expected return of the 4-2-3-1 formation after Arsenal’s trouncing of Aston Villa should see Ozil return to the central attacking midfield position. His vision is one of a kind and with Alexis Sanchez’s pace and unreal energy levels should provide some quick attacks. Wenger’s attempt to turn Jack Wilshere into the much needed central defensive midfielder over have so far been a long struggle, but has recently paid off. Wilshere will most likely edge Ramsey to the starting lineup alongside Mikel Arteta.
As for the attack, there’s only one man for the Job. Having both created and scored against Villa in the space of two minutes Welbeck was rested for the mid-week loss against Southampton, so is almost definite to start. Welbeck has slotted in well to the Arsenal attack. His nifty movement amongst the opposition defence in recent games could prove vital in the North London derby.
The main focus of the match will be on the Arsenal defence, with a lack of depth, providing a high quality performance without getting injured or suspended will be a tough one.
Although a tough match, I still believe Arsenal will prevail with a comfortable 3-1 victory.
Article contributed by: Footy Antics
Twitter: @FootyAntics
Twitter: @FootyAntics
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