North London is .....

Theo Walcott celebrates his goal against Tottenham last year.

With tomorrows game less the 24 hours away I thought it would be correct to write a small something about it. Its not just any football match to me. Arsenal Spurs is a game that determines whether or not you will get bullied at school for supporting the wrong football team. It always been the center of football banter at school as well. This year I am not accepting the 'Biggun' from those Spurs fans and I will be giving it to em'. But as a football fan, its easy to talk the talk but can your team produce and then prove that the status you give them is correct.

In all honesty, im not the 'tactic man' and it is rare for me to start criticising the tactics Arsene plays on a match day. However, in some cases tactics can change games and the way teams play. For example, having good wide men and playing 4-3-3 just will not work. In order to come out the victors tomorrow we will have to introduce some sort of tactic to our team. 

Over the years Tottenham have adapted to the counter attacking football which suits their players. They have pace down the wings in Bale and Lennon and the creativity of Dembele and Dempsey can cause a threat. Their counter attacking style will allow either Huddlestone or Sandro just to sit infront of the defence and break down any of our so called energetic attacks. 

Now, we have seen this season how Spurs can be so lethal from the counter attack and how they can punish teams who are left exposed at the back. This is where out tactics will come in place. 

To stop their lively wingers from posing a threat on our defence I dont expect our full backs to be getting forward as much as they usually do. With the full backs not getting forward this will give less room for either Bale or Lennon to get forward and get balls into the box. We know how deadly Adebayor is in the air, as proved a few years back for us, and Jermaine Defoe who has recently had a good run of form is what they call a poacher. 

Where we can outshine Spurs and cause a threat is in our midfield. In the Man United preview I mentioned how the midfield will play a part in the outcome of the game and they did. The same applies against Tottenham. The creativity in Cazorla, Wilshere and Arteta is unimaginable. Its like watching three David Blaine's on the pitch because they are all so magical to watch. I expect a world class performance from the three of them considering their recent performances have been inadequate. If Cazorla and Wilshere get forward to support the attack and always be an option for the wingers to come inside then I expect goals. As you all know already... Goals win you Matches. On paper our midfield looks greatly superior to what Tottenham has in their center and hopefully tomorrow will prove that our midfield isn't only better on paper but also on the pitch. 

There is a large amount of discomfort and suspiciousness going into tomorrows game due to current form and rightly so. 3 goals conceded last week to a Fulham side that should be no match for ours. Nonetheless we did manage to score 3 goals and create an attacking threat. With this in mind if we play our game right things will look promising. 

It has been a tough week for us losing many players to International duty but that doesnt matter as they all came back without any injuries to worry about and ready for the North London derby. Arteta, Ox, Walcott and Giroud are all undergoing late fitness tests but do expect our strongest line up tomorrow with the return of Wojchiech Szczesny in goal. 

Here's a little stat to build our spirit and confidence going into tomorrow's game : Arsenal have played Sp*rs 167 times in all competitions. The Gunners have won 70 & lost 53.

North London derby's always bring tough tackles, great goals and bust ups. Look out for Arsene Wenger's water bottle tantrum and AVB'S favoured squatting position.  Dont forget to get behind the team ! Why ? Because North London is ours. 

Keep the Faith

Up the Gunners 

Arsene Wagner