So, after what seems to have been an incredibly long week, the day is upon us. The North London derby kicks off in just a few hours time and it is, as many have said already, probably the most pivotal derby of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
Getting right down to brass tacks this is a game from which Arsenal need three points. Chelsea’s win yesterday moves them into fourth position and anything other than a three goal margin for us today means they’ll stay there on goal difference. There’s still plenty of football to be played this season but we have to keep the pressure up for that top four finish.
The need for points is exacerbated by the two cup defeats in the last 10 days or so and the cherry on top of that poo-flavoured cake is the fact that Sp*rs sit happily in third place 10 points ahead of us. I’m not suggesting our focus should be on catching them, per se, but it certainly adds something to the mix.
With regard to the team there are some fitness and form issues for the manager to deal with. We wait for news regarding Koscielny and Gibbs. It’d be a brave man who put any money on the latter being fit, in which case our back four will be Sagna – Djourou – Koscielny – Vermaelen. In midfield the trio should be Song, Arteta and Rosicky, while up front is where the manager has his biggest decision to make.
For me Gervinho and van Persie are obvious, it’s whether or not he chooses Walcott or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the right hand side. I suspect it’ll be the more senior man who gets the nod today. Personally, I’d play The Ox, I can’t remember Walcott ever getting much change out of their Jason Lee headed left-back, and although Oxlade-Chamberlain has had a couple of quiet games recently I think I’d still prefer to see his youthful exuberance, along with his more rounded game, ahead of Walcott.
But that’s just me. And maybe some of you. The man who makes the decisions is another thing and I think he’ll go for the experience of Walcott, such as it is, and keep Oxlade-Chamberlain as an option from the bench should he be needed. We don’t have much there in the way of players who can change a game. For me Walcott is an effective sub if we’re leading and the opposition are pressing for an equaliser, the space they leave behind can be exploited.
But asking Walcott to come on and have a big impact on a game in which we’re the ones searching for a goal isn’t realistic. Sunderland showed last weekend the blueprint is sit deep, and almost immediately Theo is rendered ineffective. If we are chasing the game The Ox gives us more and when you consider the only other attacking/creative option is Benayoun, I think he’ll keep this particular powder dry.
Of course team news and the selection of one player over another who is bit more of a favourite with the crowd at the moment might well spark debate, but once that whistle goes whichever XI he’s selected need the full support of the crowd. I spoke earlier in the week, and on the Arsecast, about how today has got to be US against THEM, even if the feelings have been mutinous and disenchanted of late.
We’ve got all the time in the world post-game, in the real and virtual worlds, to talk about what happens and why. And I don’t even want to think about losing this game today. The consequences and the fall-out would be significant so let’s focus on the positives and remember who it is we’re playing today. Robin van Persie says:
The last couple of games have just not been good enough. And I personally feel responsible for this as the captain of the team.
As players, we also need to look within ourselves for the solutions. We owe it to our manager and — even more — to our fans.
We need to start right now and we have the very, very best of incentives. It’s Tottenham at the Emirates and it doesn’t come any better than that.
Regardless of the opposition today would not be just another league game, not just another three points. The team must respond and if the extra motivation we need is to beat the oldest of enemies then all well and good. But this needs to be a collective effort, if the fans need to the team to demonstrate that this game means as much to them as it does to us, then the team need the fans behind them too, right from the start.
We know things aren’t right at the moment, we all know we’re in a difficult place, but there’s a time and a place for that and the 90 minutes during a derby game is not it. The introspection and examination of us can wait because whatever you think about the way things are going, however much you dislike this or that or the other, it should pale into insignificance when you remember who’s coming to town today.
As Goonernholic rightly pointed out, it’s now time to the turn the guns outwards. It’s time, as Lee Dixon said, to “roll our sleeves up and get stuck in.” It’s time to remind our neighbours that one good season now and again is an anomaly, not the norm; that a cannon is a far superior weapon to a chicken on a basketball; that even the pope has no place for forgiveness in his heart for these most noxious of opponents; that he’s got a twitch; to remind them that we are The Arsenal.
And in the words of a dear departed friend, it’s time to remember who we are, what we are and what we represent.
There’ll be full live blog coverage of the game later. If you can’t see it you can follow the game with up the second live text commentary, and even if you can, come join us. Check back later for the blog post on that or bookmark the default live blog page.
Betting as always via Paddy Power who have a Money-Back Special: If there are 4 or more goals in this game, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on the match.
Click here to register with Paddy Power and get up to £50 in a free bet.
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And that’s about that. Just a quick reminder that copies of So Paddy Got Up are available now at The Tollington – ask at the bar for details.
Right, more coffee, some breakfast, and then it’s time to shoot chickens on basketballs. Come on you reds!
