Good morning and into year 12 we go!
The build-up to Sunday’s game is beginning now with Santi Cazorla talking about the importance of the derby. Not just because it’s Sp*rs, not just because of the local rivalry, but because of what’s at stake.
I think it’s fair to say that we’re not quite as good as we used to be and they’re a bit better than they used to be, which makes the games a bit more important in terms of what the results mean to either team. I don’t think it changes, for one second, how close the games usually are. When we had our best Wenger team, with Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Vieira bringing forth the Yargh they were still tight affairs.
Lots of one goal wins or draws, and while it’s a cliche it’s true that form does go out the window when it comes to these games. With both teams now scrapping for the top four, Cazorla says:
It’s very important, not just because it is a great rivalry or that it’s Tottenham versus Arsenal, but the fact that they’re a side with great players who are fighting with us for a top-four spot.
To beat them and get into the top four and the Champions League, which is our aim for the season, is essential. We know how important it is and I hope we can rise to the challenge.
Winning would be a tremendous boon, losing would make life very difficult, but even a draw would be a reasonable result. At the very least we can’t drop any more points to them as I don’t think they’re as brittle as they were last season. History tells us you can’t ever rule out an T*ttenham implosion but we’d be foolish to count on it.
I don’t think there’s ever been a time when the importance of this particular game has been lost. You can’t play for Arsenal and not know what it means when you play Sp*rs, but I wonder if the ‘British core’ we spoke about yesterday might just ramp it up a little bit. Especially with someone like Jenkinson in the dressing room who knows exactly how it feels for the fans. Anyway, there’ll be plenty more to come on this game between now and Sunday.
It’s also going to be our last game for 10 days. Everton’s participation in the FA Cup means that our home fixture against them has been postponed to a later date, which means we’re going to experience a kind of lull. An Everlull? That sounds a bit foreverish to me, but 10 days off at this stage of the season when there’s no internationals is a bit of a pain in the arse.
That said, it does give the manager a chance to do plenty of work with his team before the trip to Munich, and recharge some batteries. Maybe he could take them away on a training camp somewhere warm. Do a little training, a bit of running, then let them loose to do some ‘bonding’ the way they used to. Like when somebody did a plop in Paul Davis’s shoe, or when Perry Groves got throw into a swimming pool but there was no water in it. Who could forget that time when the lads were away with Terry Neill and they picked up a homeless man and made him dance for them before they killed him and buried his bod- … erm … I’ve said too much.
But you get the idea. It might be a good way to get them revved up for what’s left of the season. Even if they don’t go abroad they could have a fun day out at Alton Towers or go bowling in that place near the 12 Pins which has one less bowling ball than it used to. I have no idea why. What makes you think I know anything about someone how put it under their coat and casually walked out the door with it? You can’t prove anything. Still, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. If Sunday doesn’t go well we might be suggesting they’re stuck on a one way flight to the nearest war zone.
Elsewhere, as I’m sure you’ve seen by now, Dennis Bergkamp is getting a statue. It features him flying through the air, ball on his toe, and no doubt about to bamboozle a defender before sticking it in the net. I suspect the news of this statue has arrived a bit prematurely, on the back of some leaked pictures on Twitter, but all the same Dennis says:
I am honoured that this is going to happen. It makes me very proud. Everyone knows that I love Arsenal and that I had a fantastic time at the club. I will do everything I can to be there when it will be unveiled. It will definitely be a special moment for me which I don’t want to miss.
I bet he’s booking his Eurostar tickets as we speak. And it’s impossible to say he doesn’t deserve it. He was one of the foundations of the Arsenal we know today, simply by making that signing we signalled an ambition that had been lacking for a long time. What he brought to the club on and off the pitch is almost indescribable, and while I suspect he’s got some regrets about how things were for a couple of seasons, he was so instrumental to our success under Arsene Wenger.
Other than that not much to tell you this morning. Thanks to everyone for all the kind birthday wishes for the blog, back tomorrow with an Arsecast. Until then.
