• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal OMT

We do seem to struggle against the smaller sides (Watford, Stevenage, etc) so I'm worried we might not take Woolwich seriously.

Nail and head!
 
Gareth Bale is adamant Tottenham should be regarded as favourites for Sunday's derby with Arsenal due to the recent power shift he claims has occurred in North London.

The Gunners have enjoyed supremacy over Tottenham for the best part of the last two decades but Spurs are currently enjoying arguably their best season for over half a century and seem certain to finish above their bitter rivals come the end of the current campaign.

Harry Redknapp's men have lost just four league matches all season to move within seven points of the top of the table and are playing some of the best football in the country at the moment, thanks in no small part to the performances of Wales winger Bale.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are struggling to fight for a position in the top four and stand on the brink of elimination from the UEFA Champions League after a 4-0 hammering at AC Milan, where Tottenham won 1-0 last season at the same stage of the competition.

Spurs have not completed a derby double over Arsenal in the league for 19 years but Bale is confident that could all change at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

"Over the years Arsenal have been the favourites and they've been above us in the league but now the tide has turned in our favour," Bale told Spurs TV Online.

"We are playing some great stuff and I think we deserve to be where we are in the league and we deserve the favourites' tag."

Turning point

Bale thinks last season's 3-2 win at the Emirates Stadium - Tottenham's first away at their rivals in 17 years - is evidence of how the tide has turned in Spurs' favour.

Redknapp's team went in 2-0 down at half-time but the Spurs boss masterminded a remarkable comeback to end Arsenal's title hopes with a 3-2 win.

"Other teams before us, if they had gone 2-0 down they would have crumbled but the boys showed that they have character and spirit that day," added Bale.

"That showed what we can do as a team. Even if we are 2-0 down we know we can come back and win, even in the biggest games.

"We threw everything at them and they couldn't handle it.

"We have to do the same again on Sunday. We have to put all our attackers in the game and concentrate on their weaknesses."

.
 
Bale - should be Manager

He says what some of us want - all atackers in the game and concentrate on their weaknesses rather than focus on their strengths. 44 fudging 2.
 
no way id want to see us line up with 4 in midfield away from home in a NLD against a side which will be playing 5 across the middle (and desperate for a result)

we are as much an attacking force in a 451/433 as when we line up 442
 
no way id want to see us line up with 4 in midfield away from home in a NLD against a side which will be playing 5 across the middle (and desperate for a result)

we are as much an attacking force in a 451/433 as when we line up 442


I disagree - we should fight.

Ill tell you why we are not. in 451 we have to play VDV and as we all know VDV is fairly slow and we attack with pace which generally means he isnt up with play when we counter. Ade as we all know is not very prolific either. Nor is Lennon.

By playing 442 we have Ade and Saha/Defoe who are both box type players and will be up with play when we attack.

SIMPLES SIMPLES SIMPLES
 
442 at home to fodder is fine, it seems some can't differentiate between games ...

My guess is it'll be VDV and Adebayor with VDV instructed to drop in alongside Modric like he did away to City, no doubt if we're not wining at half time it'll be because "VDV keeps dropping deep!" "VDV is ruining our balance!" "VDV leaving Ade isolated!!" "Defoe/Saha on, VDV off!" etc.
 
442 at home to fodder is fine, it seems some can't differentiate between games ...

My guess is it'll be VDV and Adebayor with VDV instructed to drop in alongside Modric like he did away to City, no doubt if we're not wining at half time it'll be because "VDV keeps dropping deep!" "VDV is ruining our balance!" "VDV leaving Ade isolated!!" "Defoe/Saha on, VDV off!" etc.


No it'll be because we are not playing to Arsenals weakness i.e. their defence. We carried VDV against bricky for example. ALSO VDV has just come back from injury is he 100% fit? will he be 100% fit? i doubt it.
 
I disagree - we should fight.

Ill tell you why we are not. in 451 we have to play VDV and as we all know VDV is fairly slow and we attack with pace which generally means he isnt up with play when we counter. Ade as we all know is not very prolific either. Nor is Lennon.

By playing 442 we have Ade and Saha/Defoe who are both box type players and will be up with play when we attack.

SIMPLES SIMPLES SIMPLES

VDV destroys Arsenal. If he's fit, he has to play. There is nothing wrong with starting off with the 4-5-1, 4-2-3-1, 4-4-1-1 whatever you want to call it, with VDV just behind Adebayor. That formation still gives us the ability to match them in midfield if we're being dominated there but still have pace on the wings, creativity in the centre and a physical presence up front.

If things start going pear-shaped, we can then bring on one of Defoe or Saha.
 
Id rather be pro active and try to get a a goal or two then defend it out than the other way round. Sorry but playing 451 is just not on.

I think the 442 phalanx should have a fight with the 451 phalanx and see who wins.
 
Wenger issues Arsenal rallying call

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham is the perfect opportunity for his players to show their character.

The Gunners go into the Emirates Stadium contest after suffering defeats against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League and Sunderland in the FA Cup.

But Wenger is focusing on the positives and pointed to his side’s recent good record in the Barclays Premier League, with Arsenal losing only once in their last five matches.

"We had disappointing results, especially in Milan, and the Sunderland game was a bit unfortunate," said Wenger.

"We have a good opportunity to show that we have character and mental qualities to play for this club"

In the Premier League we have drawn with Bolton, won at Sunderland and beaten Blackburn so let's continue our run.

"We cannot complain. We are in a fantastic job and we have a big game in front of us; to feel sorry for ourselves would be criminal.

"We have a good opportunity to show that we have character and mental qualities to play for this club. Let's go for it."

Arsenal are currently in fourth place in the League on the same number of points as fifth-placed Chelsea and 10 points behind Tottenham in third.

Wenger added: "For us it's an important game because we have an opportunity to come back closer to Spurs, that we can strengthen our position in fourth place and that's of course a very important target in the season."

Tottenham are enjoying a superb campaign having lost only four matches in the League, and are aiming to finish above their north London rivals for the first time since the 1994/95 campaign.

"That's the most important thing for me this year to be honest, to be the top London club," said Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

"We have had the upper hand in the derby for the last few years, but they are dangerous opposition"

"We have got a nice cushion at the moment but we have all seen 10 points erode very quickly. We have got a tough run of games coming up.

"We have to keep it going and keep playing the way we are at the moment. That third spot - I want that at least."

And Redknapp added that although his side have got a cushion over Arsenal, they will have to be at their best to win this weekend.

"We have had the upper hand in the derby for the last few years, but they are dangerous opposition," he said. "It will be a difficult game.

"They have had a bad week but they have got good players and are a good side.

"It's important we start well. We want to make sure that in the first 15 minutes or so we get hold of the ball and frustrate them early in the game and get that anxiety coming through in the crowd."

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/boss-wenger-issues-arsenal-rallying-call.html
 
Back