Spurs vs Arsenal: 4 pre-match discussions for the derby

It’s almost upon us. A fixture that means so much to so many. Arsenal vs Tottenham, the North London Derby, a top four place up for grabs and Champions League football on the line.

If it does transpire that the Gunners make into into elite European competition next year, it is secondary how they actually get on in it. What comes with being involved in the Champions League is more important for this project than actually playing the matches.

Nobody wants to be embarrassed in the group stages, but it’s the pull, the finance, the futures of current players, the grandeur and the grappling of power away from Tottenham that will matter most to Arsenal. That, and so much more, could be decided on Thursday night.

Yet, as far as omens go, they don’t exactly favour the visiting side.

Tottenham vs Arsenal: 4 pre-match discussions for Thursday’s potentially Champions League deciding North London Derby

Arsenal have tasted success aplenty in this fixture over the Premier League years but only 12% of the meetings between the sides during that period have seen the away side leave victorious. On the whole, throughout Premier League history there have been 23 draws in this fixture.

Delving deeper, Arsenal have failed to leave with all three points in their last seven visits, a run that spans across three different stadiums, and eight years. This midweek meeting will be the first played at the Toilet Bowl in front of a capacity crowd, thus how sweet it would be to mark that occasion with a win.

The nerves simply can’t take it. Whether it is one week or one hour before kick-off, this derby is never anything other that gut-wrenching. Even in Arsenal’s pomp and Spurs’ lows, the fear of defeat runs deep. It’s a genuinely unpleasant experience. There is nothing enjoyable about it until the whistle blows and Arsenal are victorious.

Just wake us up on Friday morning, please? By that point we’ll know where Arsenal stand and can either revel in the ecstasy or wallow in sadness of defeat, but still knowing top four is still ours with two more wins.

Anyway, let’s delve into a game there is always so much to speak about.

1. Don’t Let Them Score First and Go 5-4-1

The absolute nightmare scenario, one every Gooner has undoubtedly played through their heads 1000 times over, is Tottenham scoring early and then shutting up shop.

A blitz of an opening where one of Son or Kane scores inside five minutes is followed by Antonio Conte’s side dropping into their 5-4-1 shape, one where they are perfectly set up to burst into their devastating counter-attacks.

Arsenal will push for the equaliser and then get picked off. 2-0, and so on and so forth. This isn’t our first rodeo.

Going behind against this opposition at their stadium would be catastrophic. It’s not even hyperbolic either, with Arsenal’s tally of four points won from losing positions in the Premier League the worst of any side this season, and Spurs losing just one and drawing two of the 22 matches where they’ve taken the lead.

The objective is clear.

This is a side who flourish when they go in front. It’s a gameplan every side wants to employ but its impact is no clearer than with Arsenal. By comparison, Spurs have secured 14 points from losing positions this season, the most in the entire league.

Going in front and then picking Arsenal off on the counter is exactly what Tottenham want. Arsenal must not let the match fall into a negative game state early on. If they do, it could be curtains.

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