Let's silence the critics who doubt the strength of the Arsenal squad

 By Danong

Tottenham vs. Arsenal is the highlight of Premier League match day 4. The two North London sides will face off this afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Coming into this game, the Gunners will be trying to rebound from their disappointing 1-1 draw against Brighton the last time out.

However, they'll face Tottenham Hotspur, who are also coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss to Leicester; they dominated the Foxes but couldn't capitalise on it.

Us gooners usually expect to win this North London derby but not going into it with our strongest team has given the critics room to question our squad strength.

Declan Rice will serve a one-game ban for the red card he received against Brighton and Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard will be out due to injuries. On paper, the trio represents the ideal midfield for Arsenal.

Is it advantage Spurs?

Spurs are also looking to bounce back from their defeat to Leicester and they could be with Mickey Van de Ven and new signing Dominic Solanke who look like returning. Ange Postecoglou could still field a formidable team, unlike Arteta.

However, the red and white team's focus is on winning the Premier League, and they must adopt a winning mindset.

Regardless of the circumstances, they can fight for the win, demonstrate progress and silence the critics who believe the injury crisis will expose a weak squad.

That said, most Gooners have tried to come up with their strongest Arsenal team to face Spurs (maybe you could share yours in the comments area); well, here's mine:

The Arsenal defence has once again been excellent, conceding only one goal in three games; I believe we can trust it as is it is.

Jurrien Timber has provided steadiness at left-back and considering Riccardo Calafiori's injury scare on international duty, it is not worth risking the Italian and losing him to injury.

So with Raya in goal, Arsenal's back four of White, Saliba, Gabriel, and Timber should remain unchanged.

In midfield, where there is an injury crisis I would look to leverage experience to build an efficient engine room.

In an injury crisis, you stick with your most experienced players, so Partey with Jorginho in a midfield pivot might just get the job done. The two must act wisely in order to neutralise any threat that Spurs' midfield poses.

Kai Havertz shone on international duty last week in a new role; at the European Championships in the summer, German manager Julians Nagelsman used him as a striker.

In the two Nations League games during the September international break, he played as a 10.

I believe Havertz will play as a 10 against Spurs, with Trossard as a false 9, Martinelli returning to the left wing, and Saka maintaining his excellent form on the right wing.

There is a case to start Jesus or Sterling up front expecially when taking into consideration Spurs high line and these two Arsenal players' pace.

But Trossard has played this role before for Arsenal and he should be trusted to start and do something he is good at: score. Jesus and Sterling could come off the bench if required.

Raya
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber
Jorginho, Partey, Havertz
Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

With this lineup I don't see any reason why Arsenal shouldn't outwit Spurs, secure NLD bragging rights and go 5 games unbeaten against Tottenham.

The perfect Arsenal game plan and an interesting twist in the formation to go 5 unbeaten in the NLD

 By Danong and 1970s Gooner 

The Gunners' next match is against their  local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal, who have gone unbeaten in four of the last five North London derbies, will look to make it five on Sunday.

This game will not be easy, but we are convinced that they will return to winning ways after drawing their last game before the international break versus Brighton.

Here is what they have to do:

1. Start quickly and take early chances

After the international break, games often start slowly with less momentum and no rhythm. Players can be sluggish. Yes, the momentum builds as the game progresses, but Arsenal should try not to be like that against Tottenham. 

They need a bright, quick start that will catch Spurs off guard and derail their game plan before they find their groove. 

We accused the Gunners of complacency in the first half against Brighton. That shouldn't be the case this Sunday.

2. Play Jorginho

We expect Mikel Merino (injury), Declan Rice (red card) and Martin Odegaard (injury) to miss the game. Even with these absentees, Mikel Arteta needs to find a way for his midfield to gel. 

There are various ways he may line up his midfield, but if you ask, we'd say he should start Jorginho in any formation he chooses (see below).

The Italian midfielder brings control and composure to Arsenal's midfield and his eye for a pass and ability to distribute the ball could be a secret weapon against Spurs. 

Having not gone on international duty, Jorginho would bring freshness into Arteta's midfield and might just produce one of those 5-star performances he pulled off last season.

3. Adopt the 4 2 2 2 formation

This sounds outlandish but was used by Arteta before (against Liverpool). It involves playing a pivot of two central midfielders (partey and Jorginho), two false number 9s or 10s ( Havertz and Trossard) and the two wide players (Saka and Martinelli). 

This is a very fluid system which allows for a strong midfield when not in possession and very offensive when on the ball.

                 Raya
White Saliba Gabriel Timber
         Partey Jorginho
Saka                      Martinelli
       Havertz Trossard


4. Exploit Tottenham's high line

Tottenham, like Brighton, plays with a defensive high line. Arteta could instruct his attackers to time their runs to catch the Spurs defence on the break. 

Jorginho's and even Thomas Partey's line-breaking passes, along with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka's pace, should hurt Tottenham's high line.

5. Push back the opposing full backs

Against our rivals you should have your fullbacks in position as they rely heavily on their fullbacks to create overlaps and underlaps in their game plan. 

If you eliminate the two, you may have just disoriented Ange Postecoglou's game plan.

Newcastle defeated Spurs 2-1 before the international break despite the fact that the North Londoners appeared to be the better team. 

The Magpies silenced fullbacks Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro which meant that Spurs struggled to capitalise on their dominance. Ben White and Jurrien Timber should be alert to counter the Spurs' fullback overlaps.

But above all the players that are selected to play will have to be disciplined, carry out the game plan and put in a performance that gives them the right to claim another famous win over our North London rivals.

Which we are very confident they will.

Arteta has already hinted who he'd turn to in case of a midfield crisis

 By Danong

Arsenal sought to extend their winning streak and maintain their position near the top of the league heading into their match against Brighton. However as we know things didn't go as planned.

Due to an injury, Mikel Merino missed the match and will of course miss Arsenal's next match, the North London Derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as will Declan Rice because of the red card he picked up.

Without the two, Arteta's midfield choices are rather slim.

Jorginho and Partey could play together but in my opinion are not considered athletic enough so Arteta shouldn't risk starting them as a pair against Tottenham.

So, who fills the Merino/Rice midfield void?

The Arsenal boss recently spoke of how Jurrien Timber could also be a midfield option; at the time those were just comments which were made even before the Villa game, but we may now have to witness that first hand.

"Yeah, he is. He can play in various positions," Arteta admitted when asked if Timber is in contention to play midfield. "His versatility is one of his biggest strengths."

The Dutchman has been decent as an inverted fullback in the last two games, but there's a sense that he's done well given how long he was away due to injury.

Versus Spurs Arteta's best bet is to play Timber in midfield and give Riccardo Calafiori his first start at left-back.

With Timber and Partey as pivots and Martin Odegaard as a 10, Arsenal could have a powerful midfield to dominate the London Derby.



 

 

 

The three options to replace Rice for the NLD

 By 1970s Gooner 

So now the dust has settled after the pathetic red card dished out last Saturday let's look at what realistic options Arteta has for replacing Rice for the LND.

1. Jorginho adds his organisation and passing ability

If Jorginho comes in, it poses the issue as to where he will play. He is obviously at his best in the base of midfield but then Partey has to move to the number 8 on the left where he hasn't played before. He may however surprise us.

Their roles may be switched with Partey at the pivot and Jorginho on the left. And this looks the simplest option.

Another way of accommodating both is to play with a double pivot in central midfield and try and get the width from the left by allowing the left back to go forward. Calafiori maybe more suitable than Timber here but Arteta may be reluctant to start him in such a game.

2. Zinchenko adds his creativeness

An interesting option is to bring Zinchenko into his 'natural' position in midfield on the left and keep Partey as the pivot.

Zinchenko will definitely thrive in this position as he will be able to use his wonderful left foot to make those penetrative passes he is so capable of. Something which does not come as easily for Rice.

However he will have to be as active when the team is without the ball, something which Rice excels in!

Zinchenco will have cover ofcourse from the left back, probably Timber.

But you can never find the perfect midfielder can you? 

Merino perhaps?


3. Havertz moves into midfield

This option involves the most disruption as Havertz moves into the left midfield position which he has played before for Arsenal and Gabriel Jesus plays the number 9 role. If he is fit of course...

I would give this a low probality of happening as it means loosing your top player in that position, who is currently performing at his best and scoring goals.

Replacing him will be a player who is returning from injury and is not that prolific anyway.

Trossard on the other hand can play as a false 9 and it is conceivable the Arteta may go for this. 

Trossard has played there for Brighton and Arsenal before but again it involves disruption having to move your best number 9 away from his natural position.

There are other options like:

Trossard playing as the left sided midfielder (and Havertz staying where he is). But he has played there before for Arsenal without much success imo.

Or even Sterling coming in as a 9 but this is unlikely as he hasn't played much football yet and certainly not as a number 9 (although he has played in this position for Liverpool and Man City in the past).

The referees must handle games with common sense

 By 1970s Gooner

The debate on the red card given to Rice is on-going. All the journalists try to keep neutral by characterising it as harsh and of course blaming Rice for getting himself sent off.

But really they ignore the most obvious of facts:

1.The Brighton player deliberately kicked Rice pretending he was aiming for the ball.

2. The ball was obviously not in a stationary position as it was rolling quite nicely away from Rice. So Rice with his back to the kicker and seeing the ball rolling could not be trying to delay the kick because there was no kick to be taken in his mind.

3. The referee must be of a low standard, in terms of handling the game, if he could not understand what was going on. If he had he would have given both players a talking to and waived play on.

4. As he waved play on for Pedro's attempt to delay a throw in.

You only need to use your common sense.