It’s derby day tomorrow in north London as Arsenal take on their neighbors Tottenenham Hotspurs at the Emirates. Arsenal sit two points behind table leaders Chelsea, but with the blues’ form dipping of late, Arsenal will want to take 3 points from tomorrow’s game to apply pressure on the west London outfit. Chelsea have lost two of their last three, whilst Arsenal have done the opposite by winning two their last three. In what could prove to be one of the season’s turning points, it’s important that Arsenal show up with all the energy required to win a north London derby. Many of Arsenal’s diverse squad took part in this week’s array of midweek fixtures; Samir Nasri, Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas were amongst some of the Arsenal players who represented their countries during midweek. All of these players must overcome their fatigue in order to compete at the highest level. One player who came from international duty with a little more than fatigue was Andrei Arshavin, who picked up a small hamstring injury in Russia’s loss to Belgium. Arshavin along with Tomas Rosicky (hamsting) and Jack Wilshere, who came off injured after 45 minutes last week, face late fitness tests to assess whether they will be able to take part in tomorrow’s fixture. Encouraging news from the medical side of things is that Robin van Persie played 45 minutes for the Dutch national team, and Theo Walcott, who is on the verge of regaining full fitness, clocked some time for the three lions this week.
As Arsenal grow in squad strength with various players recovering from long term layoffs, the team has gone from strength to strength without them. The once interim goalkeeper Lucasz Fabianski has all but cemented his place in the first team lineup with strong performance after strong performance, the defence has worked tirelessly, and with the two first choice centre backs, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen missing through suspension and injury respectively, seasoned veteran Sebastian Squillaci, and Swiss defender Johann Djourou have filled in admirably; the midfield has looked weak at times with captain Cesc Fabregas yet to hit top form since returning from injury even though his French partner Samir Nasri has been firing on all cylinders; the Strikers have worked hard, and looked to be boosted by the return of the flying Dutchman Robin van Persie.
A tough 2-0 away win at Wolves followed by a gritty 2-1 win at Everton has got many plaudits reassessing their stance on Arsenal’s title chances as the gunners close in on Chelsea. However, whilst Arsenal have won two physical matches on the trot they face a technically gifted Spurs team.
Having beaten Inter Milan 3-1 in the group stages of the champion’s league four weeks ago, Spurs have struggled to recapture the magnificent form that led them past the Milan outfit. Nevertheless, Spurs’ Welsh starlet Gareth Bale has continued the brilliant form that helped him dismantle Maicon at the Lane. He scored two more goals this past weekend taking his season’s tally to 9 in all competition. Stopping him will be key to an Arsenal victory. Bale is not the only player that Arsenal must watch because Tottenham have many talented midfielders including Luka Modric, Aaron Lennon, and Rafael van der Vaart. Accompanying these midfielders could be the deadly Jermaine Defoe, who may play some part in tomorrow’s game after a long two month absence due to injury. A Strong defence and a clinical offence should help Arsenal clinch a vital victory. Fabregas, and Nasri will need to be on top form. Nasri enjoyed a fantastic game against England and hopefully he will keep it up; Fabregas on the other hand had a mediocre game at best against Portugal, and will need to be at his best to effectively break down Spurs.
In last season’s two fixtures Arsenal won the game at the Emirates 3-0, but lost the game at White heart lane 2-1. A video of Fabregas’ wonder goal in the home fixture can be seen below.
Tomorrow promises to be a mouthwatering clash, and hopefully both teams can play to their full potential so the game lives up to its billing.
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