I’m expecting an onslaught from Spurs... and Emery’s side may struggle to cope
MOMENTUM is a quality Arsenal have and Tottenham do not. The same goes for confidence. The Gunners are flying after a successful week while Spurs have started to look over their shoulder rather than ahead to the title race.
Not that these factors should play a part tomorrow. Yes, I’m going to use that dreaded cliche about form going out of the window. The north London derby could be the best possible tonic for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, a toothlesslooking lot in the Chelsea defeat.
Yet the visit of Arsenal should perk everyone up. Wembley will be jumping, demanding fight and commitment from players perhaps affected by their manager’s criticism. I mean, if Pochettino really does believe his boys lack the right mentality for a title push, there’s a chance some will start to doubt their own credentials.
But there’s no room for reservations once the whistle sounds and the intensity of this fixture tends to wipe out any misgivings.
As a result, I’d be amazed if we didn’t see a re-energized Spurs throwing everything at their rivals in an effort to get back on track.
For Arsenal, the obvious worry is, can that defence cope with the onslaught? Whoever Unai Emery picks in a back four or back three, can they hold it together in a way that has proved frustratingly elusive in too many games this season?
On the plus side, Laurent Koscielny, who has been receiving treatment after suffering a knock against Bournemouth, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are looking quite strong. If they play well, a useful platform gets built to launch counterattacks through a clutch of players shining brightly just now.
Alexandre Lacazette, PierreEmerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi and the mercurial Mesut Ozil won’t all start but it’s a nice problem for Emery.
Mkhitaryan was excellent against Bournemouth on Wednesday whilst Ozil’s contribution bordered on the sublime. Yet these two have come up short too often in the big games.
This time, one of them, at least, needs to turn up. If that happens, and one or both of the strikers enjoys a good day, Spurs could get tested in a very interesting way.
There are a few ‘ifs’ in there,
Can the Gunners hold it together in a way that has proved elusive for too many games this season?
though. And you can understand some unease amongst Arsenal fans who are yet to see a truly impressive performance on the road against a top side this term. The closest they came was at Old Trafford in December and even that 2-2 draw with Manchester United turned into a topsy-turvy affair lacking control.
That’s surely the next step for Emery — to introduce more consistency away from home.
Starting tomorrow, however, might not be so simple.