Arsenal vs Tottenham: 3 weaknesses to exploit

The days leading up to the North London Derby are going to drag. Fortunately there was some midweek Carabao Cup action to whet the appetite for Arsenal fans, but nothing compares to facing Tottenham.

It’s a fixture that simultaneously gets the blood pumping, and also freezes it cold. There is no better feeling than beating Spurs just as there are few feelings worse than losing to Spurs. Especially on home soil. Dread and excitement in equal measure.

With three wins on the bounce after seeing off AFC Wimbledon and three most welcome clean sheets on top of that, Arsenal should be in good spirits for the visit of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

After the Manchester City defeat it was the first time in top-flight history that Tottenham sat top of the Premier League table with Arsenal rooted to the very bottom. The first time ever. That was a dark few days.

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Arsenal vs Tottenham: 3 weaknesses of Nuno Espirito Santo’s side ahead of the North London Derby in the Premier League

Since then Arsenal have won their two league games without conceding while Spurs have lost their two league games without scoring and conceding six. A lot can change in football very quickly.

All of which sets the tone for what will be an invigorating fixture. For pure excitement, drama and goals there is quite possibly no better game in the English top-flight. Manchester City vs Manchester United? Drab. Liverpool vs Everton? One-sided.

So as the gap between the two sides currently sitting seventh and 13th in the table respectively narrows, a win for either side could have huge impact in almost every facet for the rest of the campaign.

Mikel Arteta and co best not let that happen, then? And a good place to start with on the quest for three derby points is Tottenham’s weaknesses. There are three standout ones, some which can be taken advantage of.

1. Jose Mourinho Has Left Them Unfit

Jose Mourinho? What does he have to do with this? Quite a lot, in fact.

The former Spurs boss has something of a track record with this. In a career laden with trophies at clubs where it almost always ends badly, much of his lasting legacy is leaving behind an unfit group of players.

It took Manchester United many months to solve and when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in one of his primary aims was to get the team back up to reasonable fitness.

While it’s been five months since Mourinho got the sack in the wrong part of north London, Santo hasn’t been in the job too long and there are clear fitness issues within his crop of players that are yet to be fully amended.

Despite winning their opening three Premier League games they were relatively fortunate in all of them as late spells of pressure arrived partly in due to to the aforementioned lack of fitness. Against Chelsea they tired last time out and then in midweek Wolves were in the ascendancy from the minute they scored their first goal on 38 minutes.

There is almost always drama in these encounters and with a Tottenham side not at the fitness levels Santo would like there is undoubted scope for some late action.

They will tire.

Continued…

2. Tottenham Struggle Defending the Press

Struggle is being kind. They’re not very good at it.

A back four that looks set to contain Eric Dier, Emerson Royal and Sergio Reguilon for definite, while all have come qualities that make them decent footballers, they have severe difficulty navigating their way through a press.

Dier is slow and cumbersome, Emerson has shown already this season that with a crowd and a winger chasing him down he’s vulnerable and Reguilon doesn’t have a right foot, so pressed the right way becomes erratic.

Forcing them to go long is always desired. The only person they can realistically aim for is Harry Kane or Dele Alli, as Lo Celso, Bergwijn and Ndombele are not tall, while Heung-min Son isn’t physical enough to contest aerial duels consistently well.

Pressing high isn’t something Arsenal have nailed down just yet. There were positive signs of it against Norwich and efforts made against Manchester City, but the team is not at stage where it can do so relentlessly and overly effectively even with Martin Odegaard leading the charge.

But with a raucous Emirates crowd those early stages are prime time to press Tottenham high, force the errors and demand they go long. There is little conviction in their defending and they are guilty of dropping very deep into their own box. So, force it. Make that the case early doors.

It’s a clear weakness of theirs.

Continued…

3. Lack of Squad Depth

Tottenham’s starting lineup vs Chelsea: Lloris, Emerson, Romero, Dier, Reguilon; Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Alli; Lo Celso, Kane, Son.

It’s pretty much their strongest team. Not a bad one either, especially when playing Arsenal since Son and Kane turn into prime Pele and Garrincha, but it’s what comes after that which is lacking.

Tottenham’s subs vs Chelsea: Gollini, Doherty, Davies, Sanchez, Rodon, Skipp, Scarlett, Winks, Gil

It’s not inspiring. There is some decent talent in there (the young lad Bryan Gil is an exciting player), but Winks? Skipp? Rodon? Off the bench? It’s very weak.

That may be a similar story for the weekend too with the usual forward depth they have in Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura doubtful for the trip down the Seven Sisters Road.

How do Arsenal exploit this? Well, there isn’t anything especially that Arsenal can do in this respect. What it is, however, is a clear weakness in this Tottenham side that coupled with their tiredness in the latter stages bodes well for whatever they might or might not be able to bring in off the bench.

Arteta, meanwhile, will have Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe and even maybe Sambi Lokonga as some of his options depending on the lineup. There is danger there. Less so for Santo.

Over the course of an intense 90 minute encounter it could play a key role in Arsenal’s favour.