ARSENAL’S draw at Wolves in midweek has blown the title race well and truly wide open and added an even greater sense of expectation to tomorrow’s North London derby.
It has turned an already combustible fixture into something far more explosive.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners hold a five-point lead over Manchester City, but with one more game played and their once robust stature rapidly waning, there is an air of increasing doubt and worry around the Emirates.
The Croatian has been brought in to replace Thomas Frank, who departed with Spurs languishing in 16th place – just five points above the relegation zone.
There is little doubt Spurs will want to build from the back, hold an aggressive defensive line and commit numbers forward with a three-pronged attack designed to create chaos. If fit, Dominic Solanke or Richarlison are likely to lead the front line.
This is exciting, high-risk football, and it is exactly the sort of profile that could unsettle Arsenal, who prefer to control the game.
Tottenham supporters will have been encouraged by Tudor’s first interview, in which he said there is “no time to find excuses” and emphasised that he would not play for draws as he bids to lift the London club away from the drop zone.
Bukayo Saka, on the scoresheet in midweek, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard could be the trio Arteta calls upon to prop up the front six. And they are likely to perform well again.
What should concern the Spaniard, however, is the feebleness creeping into their defence.
Once touted as the meanest in the league and anchored by the central partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, along with dependable goalkeeper David Raya, things have begun to look rather shaky at the back.
Unless Arteta resolves those niggling issues, Spurs could cause serious harm to the Gunners’ aspirations of a first league crown in more than two decades.
Declan Rice, who has emerged as an integral part of the Gunners’ midfield, should find James Maddison a good test in the territorial duel.
Rice will look to compress the space in the centre of the park and keep Arsenal stationed in Spurs’ half. Maddison, on the other hand, will aim to fracture that structure with quick, precise passing and clever rotations.
Whoever dictates that zone will surely dictate the rhythm of this clash – and quite possibly win it too.
For long periods this campaign, Arsenal have looked and played like genuine title contenders. They spent heavily in the off season, splashing more than £200mil on players to strengthen their depth and give Arteta a squad potent enough to go all the way.
Well, the time has come for them to prove what they are made of. Failure to win tomorrow would heighten the doubts surrounding a team with just two victories in their last seven league matches.
And when one considers that Arteta’s side have been runners-up in each of the last three seasons, another close shave would be deemed a failure – and rightly so.
But with their backs to the wall, one suspects the right sort of reaction may come from the Gunners. Indeed, more than a few pundits have tipped Arsenal to win comfortably, despite their fumbling and the midweek blip.
