North London Derby Preview: Arsenal v/s Tottenham Hotspur

18 Yard Box looks at one of the fiercest rivalries in the English Premier League as Arsenal welcome Tottenham for the first time this season.

It’s Week 12 in the Barclays Premier League and Arsenal welcome Tottenham Hotspur in what is expected to be a scintillating clash at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, placed 7th in the League table currently, are a point behind fierce city rivals Tottenham and need a victory quickly if they are to keep pace with the League leaders Manchester United. Spurs on the other hand aim to achieve Champions League football and should be able to considering their rather good performances.

18 Yard Box here analyses the game which resumes the debate of whether which North London club is the best in its region.

Arsenal

Strength

Arsenal’s strength lies in their attack. With Cazorla, Podolski and Ramsey handling the attacking midfield regions, it forms a formidable attack coupled with Giroud upfront. Now that Giroud has started scoring goals, the confidence is building up and a victory here against Spurs will go a long way in their chase of the Title.

Giroud needs to keep his scoring shoes on

Having scored two in the last game against Fulham, Giroud looks to have found his scoring boots and finally looks settled playing in front of the three midfield maestro’s. Wenger also has depth in the attacking positions with Oxlade Chamberlain and Walcott both capable of destroying their opponents with raw pace. With Wilshere back from injury, Wenger certainly has a strong midfield on hand.

Wilshere should remain injury free if Arsenal are to win 

Weakness

Defense is a cause of concern for the Gunners although they have only conceded 11 goals in the League this season. Thomas Vermalen has has turned up with lack-lusture performances this season. Accused of dropping his concentration levels in the game, the Belgian international has been used in the left back department due to the inadequacy of Santos. The Brazilian has been awful this season and Wenger has been quick to realise that. 

Koscielny, on whom much was talked bout, has not been himself this season. Losing markers and not keeping the offside trap on are his common mistakes. With runners like Lennon and Bale, Tottenham could well exploit this weakness of the Gunners. 

Vermaleen needs to hold the defense together

Tottenham Hotspur

Strength

Tottenham looked to have started with a bang unltil Moussa Dembele got injured. They have since lacked that extra bit of creativity coupled with strength just behind the striker. Even though Sigurdsson continues to spray those beautiful passes all across the pitch, Tottenham lack the edge going forward.

Dembele has taken the Spurs faithful by storm

The pace on their wings is certainly the strongest point for Spurs. With Lennon on the right and Bale on the left, this is one area they need to make sure is unplayable. Villas Boas has to bank in on these two and make them his leaders in attack.

Bale and Lennon need to be the leaders in attack

Their defense is strong with Caulker raising his standards this season. Vertonghen has been a super purchase for them as he has quickly settled in and is putting top performances. Walker has been good both while going forward and when defending. Another plus point for Tottenham is that Sandro is coming good this season. The Brazilian central defensive midfielder has shown great physical presence thus shielding the Tottenham back four well. A kind of midfielder which Arsenal lack.

Vertonghen and Caulker have been rock solid this season

Weakness

Tottenham seems to lack the winning mentality they had when Harry Redknapp was incharge. Villas Boas has himself come after a failure at The Bridge and fails to infuse that confidence in the players. His stubbornness in the formation he uses also does not seem to go down well with the players. His decision to withdraw Defoe and bring on Adebayor when they had come from a goal behind against Wigan at home looked to defensive. Fans were left waiting for more as he has failed to use both of them together upfront, something which Harry managed to do. The injury to Dembele has only reduced options for VIllas Boas in their midfield.

Another cause for concern is their other centre back William Gallas. With Dawson at his disposal, AVB's liking for Gallas is a little surprising considering that the French international has not performed particularly well. It remains to be seen if he does well against his former club or whether he takes a stumble in this one too.

The English game surely is not suiting AVB

Importance of a win

Since Arsenal have aimed to go after the League, even though it may seem unreal, their requirement for three points is more than Spurs. Spurs look to have lost that bit of ambition after losing out on the coveted Champions League place last season and have targeted only a Top four place which is less than what they can achieve. With AVB coming out and saying that they are not willing to go for the League, the confidence of the Tottenham players must have surely taken a dent. Although they look a better side than Arsenal, both sides need to regain their winning mentality to achieve their respective targets.

The Final Verdict

Even though Arsenal look to have the higher ambition, the will to back it up with action is lacking. Spurs look to have a balanced team but they seem to have no ambition which they should try to achieve. A lackluster draw with both sides withdrawing to play their natural game would be anyone’s best guess.

Written By,
Aman Arora

Aman is a writer and editor for 18 Yard Box, Contributor at Goal.com and Sportskeeda.com.

Follow Aman Arora on Twitter