Tottenham v Arsenal
It’s Super Sunday! Tottenham will be looking to bounce back to winning ways after their 4-0 drumming at the hands of Chelsea as they take on north London rivals Arsenal in search of a Champions League spot. The Gunners are still in the running for the Premier League title, although they are seven points behind log leaders Chelsea with a game in hand.
Tottenham’s gamble of selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and using the proceeds of the world-record fee to bolster their squad with a few expensive players has backfired.
Besides looking at the Premier league table where fifth Tottenham are unlikely to claim a Champions League spot, a scroll down Spurs’ team sheet for Saturday’s league match against Chelsea says it all. For one of their biggest games of the season against a rival they hadn’t beaten away in 24 years, none of the seven players they splurged a total of about 110 million pounds on last year were selected in the starting XI.
No Brazil international Paulinho, who cost a then-club record 17 million pounds. No Spain striker Roberto Soldado, who eclipsed that fee when he arrived for 26 million pounds. The less said about Erik Lamela, on whom Spurs splashed out 30 million pounds but who has been a major flop this season and is currently out injured, the better.
Instead, Tottenham played three centre backs in a four-man defence, had a right back playing in midfield and a winger roving across the frontline. Chelsea won 4-0 with the result just about summing up Tottenham’s chaotic season that has featured one-sided defeats of 6-0 and 5-1 to Manchester City, 5-0 at home to Liverpool and a change of manager when Andre Villas-Boas was replaced by a rookie, Tim Sherwood. Indeed, it’s a wonder how they are still fifth in the standings.
The result was harsh on Spurs, who had set up with a shape looking to contain Chelsea, and they were more than doing their job until a defensive error from Vertonghen opened the door for Jose Mourinho’s side. Younes Kaboul then pushed the striker in the penalty area which earned the defender a red card and allowed Eden Hazard to score from the spot. Substitute Demba Ba scored twice in two minutes, thanks to a slip from Sandro and a terrible back header from Kyle Walker.
Spurs have only managed to score one goal in their last three Premier league matches. Emmanuel Adebayor is one bright spark and Tottenham’s top goal scorer with eight goals despite only rejoining the first team when Tim Sherwood took over, after AVB was sacked. The Togolese will surely be looking to get on the scoresheet when he faces his former team. Tottenham have been inconsistent at home, winning only half of their 14 matches and losing four times.
Arsenal booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a thrilling 4-1 win over Everton at The Emirates last Saturday. Mesut Ozil gave Arsenal an early lead with his first goal in three months. Everton drew level on 32 minutes but Mikel Arteta restored Arsenal’s lead from the penalty spot midway through the second half before substitute Olivier Giroud scored two goals in two minutes to send Arsene Wenger’s men to Wembley and end Roberto Martinez’s hold on the FA Cup.
Third place Arsenal are now seven points behind Chelsea with a game in hand and tied with second place Liverpool on points. Arsene Wenger’s side have one of the best away records this season and will fancy their chances here. The Gunners have suffered with injuries this term. Jack Wilshere is out for up to eight weeks, while Laurent Koscielny is suffering with a hamstring injury and could be a doubt for Sunday’s blockbuster fixture.
However, there is good news for Arsenal fans with Aaron Ramsey returning from injury along with Kim Kallstrom. The Gunners have a tough few weeks ahead of them. After Tottenham they will take on Chelsea (A), Swansea (H), Man City (H), Everton (A), and an FA Cup semi-final tie against Wigan at Wembley. Arsenal’s highest goal scorer Giroud has been in superb form, scoring four goals in his last three matches and will be the go-to-man.
Both Arsenal and Tottenham have been inconsistent in recent weeks and neither side can afford to drop points. Wenger’s team have won four of the last five meetings against Tottenham. They won the reverse fixture 1-0 and are tipped to pull the double over their north London rivals.
