What happens today is likely to determine the course of tomorrow, and the next couple of weeks, as we head into an Interlull.
A win, and some new players tomorrow, and much of what has felt wrong in the Arsenal world will feel a lot better. The alternative, well, it’s not worth thinking about right now.
The differences in our respective summers can’t be more obvious. They’ve spent an absolute fortune to replace the man who made them so potent last season. I don’t think anyone really underestimates Bale’s influence on the team but they’ve done what we did when we lost van Persie. You can’t find a direct replacement so you go out and buy a number of players to do the job.
Although last year we finished one position lower than we did in van Persie’s final season, we earned three points more in the final league standings as Cazorla, Giroud and Podolski chipped in across the campaign. That lot will be looking for similar from their multitude of new faces (I’ve genuinely lost count at this stage, is it 7? 8?), as they look to crack the top four once and for all.
In contrast, Arsenal have yet to bring in a player who has required a transfer fee. Yaya Sanogo came on a free from Auxerre, Mathieu Flamini another free signing from under the manager’s nose when circumstances left him with little option. And it’s not as if we haven’t tried to sign players. There have been well publicised attempts to bring in Higuain and Suarez, but for various reasons neither succeeded.
Behind the scenes I’m sure there have been other targets but the fact we’re just over 24 hours away from the close of the transfer window without spending a single penny tells its own story. Arsene Wenger admits that the transfer market is a problem for him, but at the same time refuses to work with a Director of Football. Does it have to be so black and white? Can’t he work with someone to ease the burden without relinquishing the control he believes a manager should have?
It’s obvious that the people he has with him at the moment are incapable of doing what he wants them to. Some of that is down to him, of course. The guidelines within which they operate are set by him, but it does just feel as if something is missing from the structure. Arsenal have tried to spend money this transfer window, but haven’t been able to. That should set alarm bells ringing all over the place, and it’s an issue that has to be addressed.
Yet, for today, I don’t think it’s what the focus should be on. Ideally we’d be going into this game, and the start of the season, with a healthy, deep, competitive squad and new players who have added quality, experience and everything else. But we know it hasn’t been an ideal summer.
However, as we’ve kept saying, the core of this team is solid. There are good players who know each other well, who have built relationships on the pitch, who work hard and will give us 100% in every game. Not least today. There’s a lot to be said for that. Players who instinctively know where a teammate is going to be, where he likes a pass/cross, who know they can get forward trusting somebody will cover because that’s been built up over time.
When you have a clutch of new faces in the side it can take time for them to gel and to become greater than the sum of their parts. While Tottenham have spent big this summer, they haven’t brought in anyone who is even close to the level Bale was at last season. They look decent players but they’re not the cream of any particular crop. Sure, some of them might have improved us, but at this point in time that’s not difficult given that anyone with two working legs and feet that aren’t clubbed would give us more depth.
I made the point earlier in the week that even when the teams were hopelessly mismatched on paper (in our favour) the games were rarely anything but tight, difficult encounters. If you want to believe that they’re stronger than us right now, fair enough, that’s entirely your look out, but that doesn’t mean today is going to be a walkover. I think we’ve got enough in our first XI to win this game today.
It more or less picks itself, I think. Assuming there have been no other injuries since Friday it’ll be: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud. That looks more than capable to me, especially after a fine response to the opening day defeat to Villa.
It’s not going to be easy. The back four looks solid with Koscielny back but in midfield Wilshere and Ramsey are going to have to be switched on defensively. Both of them prefer to get forward as much as possible, but in the absence of Arteta, somebody’s got to provide that cover. They’ll work it between them but need to ensure they don’t get caught out of position as they did against Villa (leading to their first penalty).
Up front Giroud is obviously the main threat, and he’s started the season well, but it’d be good to see Theo Walcott get his season going. He likes this fixture, with three goals in the 5-2s of the last couple of home meetings, but he’s yet to register a goal or an and has just one assist so far this season and today would be a good time to start adding numbers to his stats columns.
While tensions are high at the moment, and tempers frayed, it’s crucial that for 90 minutes the issues that have plagued us throughout the summer are put to one side. Arsenal v Sp*rs is the most important thing, the rest can be analysed, discussed, argued about (to varying levels of anger depending on what happens), after the fact. We have no option but to use what we have to win this game and remind them exactly who they are.
There are obviously many layers to this encounter – the result won’t just be down to one thing and one thing only, whether it’s positive or negative, but all we can do is hope that the players we have, the settled team we have, and the bit inside us that really knows what this game is all about can do what it takes. We know what this means, what the occasion is all about. The intensity of the fixture may be something new to some of their players. Not us. Remember Bacary Sagna at 2-0 down a couple of seasons ago?
In our own stadium, against the enemy, we could not lose.
Whatever you think about everything else, they are the enemy today.
—
Kick off today is 4pm and as always we’ll have full live blog coverage for you. You can follow the game on your phone, computer, tablet or anything else. Simply bookmark our default live blog page, or check back later for a post with all the details.
And if you fancy betting on the game, sign up with Paddy Power, bet £10, get £20. Click here to register.
—
Right, breakfast, dog walking then it’s time to smash them. Smash them good. Come on you reds.
