The battles to watch out for in tomorrow’s North London derby.
Arsenal face sworn enemies Tottenham Hotspur this weekend at the Emirates Stadium, with both clubs looking to get an early move on their bitter rivals in the first North London derby of the season.
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With a white hot atmosphere expected in North London, it will be key that the 22 players out on the pitch keep their heads – with these five key battles likely to define what is always a highlight of the Premier League calendar:
Christian Eriksen vs. Mikel Arteta
If there is one clear weakness in an Arsenal team that, for the most part, looks to be extremely strong then it is the lack of a genuine holding midfielder, with captain Mikel Arteta tasked with the job but not quite having the skill-set to excel. Christian Eriksen, who toiled against West Brom last week as they looked to shut him down with Claudio Yacob and Youssouf Mulumbu, may well appreciate playing against a side who pack the central area less and against an opponent who he may well be able to find some space against.
Alexis Sanchez vs. Danny Rose
With Ben Davies having played the midweek League Cup clash against Nottingham Forest, it is likely that Danny Rose will return at left back this weekend for Tottenham and face up against Alexis Sanchez – a prospect that the Chilean may well be licking his lips over. Rose is useful going forward but defensively the youngster is far from the finished article and, if Alexis is on form, then he will be confident of twisting the former Leeds United man’s blood.
Danny Welbeck vs. Younes Kaboul
Plenty of eyebrows were raised amongst the White Hart Lane faithful when manager Mauricio Pochettino opted to hand the club’s captaincy to Younes Kaboul, with the Frenchman’s defensive displays not having been up to scratch for some time. Danny Welbeck, fresh from opening his Arsenal account at Villa Park, will be confident that he can get the better of the Frenchman, who could be caused real issues by Welbeck’s movement and ability to swivel in behind quickly.
Emmanuel Adebayor vs. Per Mertesacker
Emmanuel Adebayor is never far from the thick of the action when playing against former club Arsenal, whether that is scoring goals or seeing the red card flashed in his direction. Pochettino will know that playing Adebayor would be a significant risk – but, if the Togolese striker is focused, he has the physical ability mixed with the touch to cause real problems for Arsenal and, in particular, Per Mertesacker – a player who can be beaten for pace.
Mesut Ozil vs. Moussa Dembele/Etienne Capoue
The most damning indictment of the way that Tottenham Hotspur rebuilt their squad last summer is perhaps that, for the sheer number of central midfielders that they have, not one of them is a truly natural holding player who is up to scratch. This could mean that any play that role against the Gunners, but it is more likely that two will share the role of covering and breaking forward – potentially Moussa Dembele and Etienne Capoue. Will either of them be able to curtail the upturn in form of Mesut Ozil, who was absolutely fantastic in the Gunners’ win at Aston Villa last weekend?