Arsenal’s Slow Spine Have Their Work Cut Out In This NLD

Match Preview – Tottenham vs Arsenal – League Cup – 23.09.15

My match predictions for the past few weeks have been woefully wrong. I’ve been watching Arsenal and seeing a team ready to shine and have been predicting it’ll happen in the next match. I saw enough against Chelsea to believe Arsenal can compete with any team 11 vs 11 but then, Mike Dean.

I’m not confident about this match at all. I think Arsenal have enough quality to see off a pretty average Spurs team but they have the confidence of three back to back wins whilst we have two losses, an injury to Coquelin and another away game on the horizon to contemplate.

Arteta gets another opportunity to start a match and prove he still has it and I’ve been one of the few who have backed him to do just that however I am not blind to his limitations. He’s getting on a bit and he can’t cover the ground like Coquelin can and that does expose the defence a little. With Giroud likely to start ahead of Theo, Per and Chambers our most probably centre-back partnership for this game we are looking decisively slow through the middle of the pitch.

However, Spurs are missing three midfielders so that could play to the strengths of our slower players, who are generally some of our best players in possession. Ramsey is likely to partner Arteta as Cazorla is suspended and if we see the best of the pivot that kept us at the top of the table for 120 days two years ago then we stand a very good chance of winning this one. I still think we’ll win but I’m not confident we’ll make an easy job of it.

Arsenal will need to be conservative in possession and based on who I think will be picked I’m not sure we’ll be great at that. I’m going to adopt the win-win attitude of the Arsenal Pessimist and complain about how crap we are so if we do lose I will already have foreseen it and if we win I can celebrate and pretend I always believed in the lads.

Arsenal from; Cech, Ospina, Bellerin, Debuchy, Gibbs, Monreal, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Chambers, Reine-Adelaide, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Flamini, Coquelin, Özil, Ramsey, Walcott, Giroud.

Predicted Line-up

Ospina, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Iwobi, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud

Match Quote

“People say the derby is now not as raw as it used to be, but trust me, a lot of the players know how big this is.”  – Theo Walcott

Last 3 Meetings

• Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal (07.02.2015)
• Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham (27.09.2014)
• Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal (16.03.2014)

Form Guide

Arsenal Last 5
LLWWD

Spurs Last 5
WWWDD

Opposition watch

Spurs had a rough start to the year but they have hit a decent vein of form and will want to heap further misery on Arsenal. They are a pacy team and will look to take advantage of Arsenal’s slower players.

Factfile

• There have been 12 meetings between these sides in this competition.
• The most recent League Cup meeting was in the third round in 2010/11 at White Hart Lane. Arsenal won the game 4-1 after extra time.
• Last season’s third-round defeat to Southampton was Arsenal’s earliest League Cup exit since November 2002, when they lost 3-2 to Sunderland at the same stage.
• The Gunners haven’t been eliminated in an away third-round tie since 1991/92 winning their 11 away third-round ties since.

Prediction

I’ve been woeful with my predictions recently so I’m going to plump for 1-0 to Arsenal whilst (not so) secretly hoping for more.

Thanks for reading! Please comment on this post, subscribe by email, share with friends and follow me on twitter (@thedanielcowan). Please check out the official NLIR Facebook page http://facebook.com/northlondonisredblog for news, views, freebies and more. 

Don’t forget to tune into the funniest Arsenal podcast around “Goonersphere Podcast“