It doesn’t matter where Arsenal and Spurs are in the league table, when the two London rivals get together it’s always a huge attraction. This Sunday’s match at White Hart Lane is just going to be all the more special due to the Champions League berth that’s possibly at stake here.
It looks like Man United and Man City have the first two of four English Champions League spots wrapped up, which leaves two more up for grabs. Tottenham has the inside track as they sit in third place while another London team, Chelsea, is hanging on to fourth by its fingernails and are two behind Spurs. The Gunners are next in line as they’re in fifth place, just a pair of points behind Chelsea and four back of Spurs.
Arsene Wenger’s men are coming off of a mixed bag last week as they were beaten by Blackburn in the FA Cup and then lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich at home in the Champions League before rebounding with a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa in the league.
Spurs have arguably been playing more consistent football than Arsenal lately and that can be attributed to the great run Welsh wizard Gareth Bale is on. Bale saved their bacon in the Europa League with a last-gasp goal against Lyon and then repeated the feat in a come-from-behind 3-2 win over West Ham at Upton Park in the league on Monday, moving them in front of Chelsea. He now has eight goals in his last six games and is proving to be one of the elite layers in the world not just the Premier League.
Spurs won’t need any extra motivation, but they’ll get it when they think back to the 5-2 beating Arsenal laid on them earlier in the season on Nov. 17 at the Emirates. That was the game where former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor put Spurs up 1-0 and then promptly got himself sent off.
It looks like Tottenham will have to do without the services of English international striker Jermain Defoe and his 14 goals due to an ankle injury. This would usually be a big blow to manager Andre Villas-Boas, but with Bale being as hot as a pistol he won’t be missed as much. However, keep in mind that this is football, so don’t be surprises if Defoe is dressed.
Spurs are pretty hard to score on at White Hart Lane as they’ve allowed just 13 goals against in 13 contests. They also realize a win over Arsenal would give them a seven-point lead over them and would make it hard for the Gunners to make up over the last 10 games of the season.
Arsenal are out of all competitions other than the Champions League, so a fourth-place finish is actually crucial for them. It will take a heel of an effort against Bayern Munich to reverse their 3-1 deficit, but the Gunners almost pulled of a similar type of situation last season, but of course, that came in a home game.
Wenger will be looking for good games out of his most consistent players such as Theo Walcott, Santo Cazorla, and Jack Wilshere. Walcott has an impressive 18 goals so far in all competitions in 33 matches, but he’s scoreless in the last five games. Cazorla has 11 goals on the season and has proven on a couple of occasions that he can be a game breaker.
Olivier Giroud has helped the cause greatly with 14 goals, but he’s also in a scoring drought. It looks like Arsenal will likely be without defenders Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs and that will hurt the fragile defence, especially as they try t keep Bale in check. Midfielder Abou Diaby will also be a game time decision as he was injured against Villa last week.
Spurs go into the game with four wins and a draw in their last five games overall while Arsenal has three victories and a pair of defeats. Look for Hugo Lloris to start in goal for Tottenham while Brad Friedel remains on the bench. The erratic Wojciech Szczesny should start between the posts for Arsenal barring injury, and Spurs should be given the edge in the goalkeeping department.
Wilshere is probably going to be the best midfielder on the pitch and both teams can score goals while their defences can also be exploited. All signs point to an exciting match this weekend with a few goals scored. However, sometimes when that’s expected the opposite happens as both teams play cautiously.
Whatever style of game we get the three points are crucial to both clubs in the race for third and fourth places. And while a win for Spurs would seriously dent Arsenal’s chances at finishing above them, it’s still possible that both of these clubs will earn spots in the Champions League next season if Chelsea continues to slip up.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
