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Tottenham vs Arsenal Preview: The North London Derby
By Brian Wong
It is Part II of the North London Derby and it is going to be a good one. Arsenal are going to be “traveling” to White Hart Lane in a battle for fifth place with the possibility of ending the weekend in fourth place or even third. The stakes are very high, and there are a lot of things to look forward to.
Prediction: Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal
1) Alexis Sanchez is not playing
This is definitely a major blow going into the North London Derby and yet Arsenal will be able to cope without the team’s best player this season. The lost of Sanchez is not as bad as people around the web think because of Arsenal’s depth in the attacking midfield.
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I have talked about this earlier in the season; as the tough Premier League seasons goes on there will be injuries and Arsenal will be alright because the team has a handful of attacking, creative midfielders. The improving health of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil will make this loss less worrisome. The spark plug that is Tomas Rosicky and a whole host of young talents make me think that although Alexis Sanchez will be missed, Arsenal will not lose games due to his absence.
2) Team Defense & Ospina
I bring this point out every week, but it is only because team defense is what has made Arsenal so good as of late. Since David Ospina has taken over, the defense seems to be better organized and there are less communication problems. The stability at the back will be crucial against a scary Harry Kane, and although I think he will find the back of the net at least once, hopefully that is all the offense we see from Tottenham this weekend.
3) I Really Dislike the SPURS and so should everyone at Arsenal
Let’s be honest, if you support Arsenal then you definitely are not a fan of Tottenham. If that’s not the case then there must be something wrong. These two sides truly hate each other and I think that is as good as any reason to predict Arsenal will come out with a win. It is painful to see a team above you in the standings, but if you play for Arsenal, or support Arsenal, nothing is more painful than seeing Tottenham above you in the standings.
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