So it`s hello to PL Action again and a crunch NLD and???????.. its good bye from me!
Arsenal have won the Premier League 3 times, all under Arsène Wenger. 1997/98, 2001/02 (both times they won the Double that season) and 2003/04 where they went the whole season unbeaten. Wenger has won the second most amount of Premier League titles after only Sir Alex with 13 Premier League titles and is tied with José Mourinho, who has also won 3 with Chelsea. But Wenger and Arsenal have hit their glass ceiling. In away league matches against the big six since the start of the 2014-15 season Woolwich have won only 1 game out of 10. Wenger isn`t able to take Arsenal any further and whilst our greatest rivals have not shown any sign of improvement, we have!
We can win the title but we have to learn how to win the really big away games. Games like Arsenal are those games where we have to learn how to get that winning mentality. Against United I am not sure we had the belief we just didn`t create or take the little chances we had and that`s where the difference is between success and missing the prize. That is why Harry Kane has been so vital to us cos he creates chances as well as taking them, his conversion rate is phenomenal. Form means nothing in this game it`s all down to how Arsenal want to break us down and how we can catch them on the break! We have only won once at the Arsenal since 1993, although we have only lost once in seven meetings in all competitions and the Gooners haven`t beaten us in the league since 2014 and have failed to beat Spurs in 6 consecutive Premier League matches since Poch took charge.
Poch has switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation in which Lamela would have been the first choice on the right wing, he has now moved to a variation of a 3-4-3 system in which he operates with a trio of central defenders. With Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen almost un-droppable, the extra attacking midfielder that was either Son Heung-Min or Lamela has been sacrificed for defensive stability and width provided by wing-backs. We don`t score too many goals from outside of our three forward positions – just 3 in the league so far this season! So all of Poch`s attackers have to be proven goal scorers. Against Arsenal, Wenger will play with the intention of getting Ramsey into the box or get a ball over our defence for a player to come on to. Assume Wenger will play Ozil and Sanchez and bring on Nabil Fekir teaming up with Lacazette latter as Giroud is injured? Wenger likes the close link up play, almost walking the ball into the net, so Verts Dier and Sanchez had better be ready for the slide ball and runs off the ball into the box. Wenger will also have to try and neutralise Eriksen whose hattrick against Martin O`Neil`s Ireland shows how potent our Dane has become and how playing at Spurs under Poch has developed him as a player. No doubt Wenger has a plan to neutralise Kane so if Son is picked this could be a very important game for him but Dele will be the unknown quantity for the Woolwich and that`s where we may have the edge.
Eriksen is now regarded as one of the top 10 players in the World. Eriksen does struggle though when he is heavily marked which is why Winks, Dele and Kane need to be in close contact with him so they can play the kind of link up play that has seen us move the ball quickly into the danger areas. We don`t have Toby so Poch has to shuffle the pack with Dier coming into a back 3 of Verts and Sanchez and hopefully Harry Winks (if fit) sitting in front of a back 5. Davinson Sanchez has travelled more than any player from either club with Colombia, flying 5,521 miles to face team-mate Heung-Min Son’s South Korea, before taking a 1,298-mile onward journey to China. Moussa should take over from Winks and finish the game but I suspect that Aurier will be on the bench for Tripps and Danny Rose will be replaced by Davies as Poch goes for a solid back line. One thing the Gooners aren`t is physical and if ever we needed Victor Wanyama it`s for this one. It`s our turn to bully the Gooners off the ball, play deep and let them come onto us for a change and then let Dele and Kane come off the shoulders of Mertesacker and Koscielny. Cech made some amazing saves against City and he will be difficult to beat especially if Poch plays Kane up front on his own. Granit Xhaka and Dele Alli will be a key battle assuming Dele passes a late fitness test otherwise Son and Sissoko will have to play. Xhaka has provided the joint-most assists and made the most touches and passes of any Arsenal player in 24 PL starts.
So this is it folks! This is my last article. After 10 seasons of writing for this site I have decided to hand the reigns over to someone else. I just want to say a big thank you to everybody, thank you for reading my drivel over the last 10 years, thank you for the complimentary and, not so complimentary, comments, both of which I have enjoyed reading! There have been some classic moments and some dreadful one`s over the last 10 years and writing about them here on Vital has been great fun! Vital Spurs is the most visited Vital site out of the entire Vital Franchise and that`s because we are a community, almost a family, and it`s been great to see the loyalty of those readers as well as to see new people joining, even those who have changed their handles after becoming reformed characters! I`ll still throw in the odd comment from time to time but keeping reading and keep contributing! COY`s
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