Premier League action today as we face Burnley at Turf Moor, and it’s a chance to put some distance between us and them – given how unexpectedly well they’ve been doing – but it’s also an opportunity to put some icing on last week’s North London derby cake.
Sp*rs drew 1-1 with managerless West Brom yesterday, so three points today would put us above them – and Liverpool – and into the top four. Clearly that shouldn’t be our sole motivation today, but it’s a little extra incentive ahead what’s going to be a difficult game against a team that have proven themselves a tough nut to crack over the last season and a half.
Their home record is what people usually point to, but they have been beaten twice there this campaign, and we know that we were one of the few teams that went there and came away with three points last season (even if it was somewhat fortuitous). They defend stoutly but also allow a lot of shots, make a lot of blocks, and if things are off then we could have plenty of chances.
It goes back to what Arsene Wenger said last week about being efficient with the opportunities we have. We were against Sp*rs, and I hope we are today. In terms of the team there aren’t really any issues of concern, and I hope and expect that we’ll see the same starting XI for this one as we did last weekend.
I realise there’s extra motivation for a derby, and I think we saw that in our performance, but there’s no reason why it can’t be replicated again today. While certain away games lend themselves to a more cautious approach, I don’t think this is one of them. The front three of Lacazette, Ozil and Alexis has more than enough to test and hurt this Burnley side, and the wing-backs are likely to have a big part to play against a team which will sit deep and defend when we have the ball.
If we can get them into space, and if their delivery and entrances into the box are good, then I think we can cause them some real problems. The finishing power is there, the creativity is there, and if we can defend like we did in our last game then we’ve got a great chance of coming away from this one with three points.
After beating Sp*rs people asked why we couldn’t play like that every week. In the immediate aftermath of that victory it was a question I wasn’t willing to delve into in too much detail, and even if every game has to be taken on its own merits, it’s not one we should simply ignore.
It’s hard to replicate the intensity and passion of a derby, but it shouldn’t be so tough to go into this game – and others – with the same levels of concentration and desire to make an impact. You could see players who felt they had something to prove last time around, and the joy of the win against Sp*rs will be tempered slightly if we can’t follow it up with a good performance/win today.
We answered some questions at the Emirates a week ago, but there are always new ones in the Premier League and going away from home and coming back with three points against a team like Burnley will go some way to answering them. Our record on the road this season needs improvement, and I hope see that today.
Arsene Wenger says the fact he can rest players for the Europa League is a positive for today:
We should benefit from the fact that we can rotate a lot in the Europa League and in the Premier League. Everybody’s back and available now basically, so hopefully we can take advantage of that because the schedule is absolutely tremendous.
You sometimes demand that you can just have a breather because it’s not only physical, it’s more mental. You need to find the mental resources every time to be up for it in the Premier League. That is so demanding and that’s why we should benefit from it.
The team today will have a had a full week of rest and recovery, a chance to recharge the batteries and get the legs ready. Let’s hope we see a performance that illustrates that, and that we take the three points.
All the pre/post-game stuff will be Arseblog News, including a match report, player ratings, stats, reaction and much more.
Come on Arsenal.
