It doesn’t come any bigger than this. Two teams in a very rich vein of form. Tottenham have lost just two of their last 14 games in all competitions, while Arsenal have 19 points from a possible 24 in the Premier league. The Gunners last away performance in the League saw them conquer the Etihad with a very resilient display and the fans would be hoping for such today again.
The home side has some players in red-hot form and you can look no further than Christian Eriksen (the free kick scoring machine) and goalscoring Hurricane, or Harry Kane, as he’s widely known in this part of the world. The English forward has blasted in 20 goals already this season with nine in his late 13 games.
Wenger took out some time to lavish some praise on the young lad,
“He has blossomed well, he has power and it will be important for us to keep him quiet on Saturday. “It’s impressive the way he has made his way through and his personality shows on the pitch.
“He’s one of the players that since the start of the season has made a big impact in the Premier League. When the players have the quality, they play, no matter where they are from. That’s why we have to support that.
The tactical folks from Betting Experts published an infographic on the North London derby that’s worth sharing in the blog today.
The head to head record between both sides favor the Gunners as Arsene Wenger’s men has won three victories in the last five Premier League encounters. Last season, the Gunners edged past their fierce rivals both home and away and it’s also worth noting that the games were settled with superb finishes from Olivier Giroud at the Emirates and Tomas Rosicky at the Lane.
According to the stats boys, Theo Walcott has scored four goals in his last six encounters with Tottenham. The last time he played against the same opposition, he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the best part of a year. They’d also be quick to bring up Emmanuel Adebayor’s impressive record in this fixture (10 goals – eight for Arsenal and two for Spurs) but it’s somewhat irrelevant because the chances of the Togolese forward featuring are slim to none.
To team news, I expect David Ooooooooooooooooospina to continue his good patch in goal. He has had four clean sheet in his last four game and as it stands, only an injury to the Colombian will pave the way for Wojciech Szczesny. In defense, I believe the manager would stick to the same backline that has been impressive in recent weeks. Per Mertesacker seems to have gotten his mojo back with Laurent Koscielny. Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal have also been stand-out performances.
The midfield pretty much picks itself with Francis Coquelin at the anchor, Aaron Ramsey manning the dynamic box-to-box and Santi Cazorla in the attacking midfield role. The Spaniard’s form was so good to the Premier League recognized his performances with the Player of the Month award. In attack, Olivier Giroud will be leading the line with Mesut Özil and Theo Walcott on the flanks.
It promises to be a sweet encounter and I can’t wait for 12.45pm.
Sayonara
Leave a Reply