Spurs v Arsenal: One big game, five big questions

Sarah Winterburn

Just seven days ago Tottenham Hotspur were ten points clear of Arsenal and beginning to believe they could challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title. On Saturday, Arsenal have the chance to move within one point of their rivals, threatening Spurs with a mini-crisis as we approach the run-in. A week can feel like a very long time in football.

So much is riding on this weekend’s north London derby that both Mauricio Pochettino and Unai Emery are likely to preach caution, which could mean another conservative Big Six match that makes a mockery of Sky Sports’ blockbuster preamble. Then again, where Emery’s side involved there’s always the chance of chaos, of bizarre tactical decisions and dreadful defending.

Here are five tactical questions ahead of Tottenham v Arsenal:

 

1) Will Emery use a diamond 4-4-2 – or pull another surprise?
Emery seems strangely suspicious of the obvious. It is increasingly difficult to preview Arsenal matches, the Spaniard regularly unveiling new formations for big games – only to fall back on old methods once it becomes clear his players are a bit confused. The obvious thing to do on Saturday would be to deploy his counter-attacking diamond 4-4-2: the system that handed Emery a 2-0 win against Chelsea in January, and the system that – once switched to – saw them dominate Manchester United for the final half-hour a week later.

It is surely the right call for this one. Tottenham’s propensity to attack consistently through the centre of the pitch, via the increasingly laboured short passing of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko, means Arsenal could seriously limit the hosts’ effectiveness by packing the middle of the park with bodies. What’s more, it makes sense to sit off Spurs at Wembley, drawing Pochettino’s side up the pitch before hitting them on the break. There’s a good chance Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – if working in tandem up front – can cause serious damage to a Spurs centre-back partnership missing Eric Dier’s cover.

But after deploying a flat 4-4-2 in a hapless defeat to Manchester City in February, there’s no guarantee Emery will play the formation best suited to defeating Spurs.

 

2) Will the game be too midfield-heavy to be entertaining?
Assuming Emery goes with the diamond, we might be in for a pretty claustrophobic game. There’ll most likely be seven central midfielders on the pitch, and with so much riding on this match (defeat for either side would be a huge psychological blow) a cagey, clogged-up game of football is definitely on the cards. Sissoko, Winks, Matteo Guendouzi, and Granit Xhaka on the same pitch – that’s an awful lot of hesitant probing in the middle.

This can be avoided if Arsenal decide to play on the counter, stretching the game and creating an end-to-end contest, but more likely both managers will show caution. That means the key battle ground is on the flanks, where, in theory, Arsenal’s narrow formation will hand Spurs an opportunity to isolate the visitors’ full-backs…

 

3) Can Trippier recover to explore the gaps on Arsenal’s left flank?
Kieran Trippier could have a big role to play, given that Spurs’ full-backs will be free to roam down the unoccupied flanks – and that he’ll have to keep an eye on the two quick Arsenal forwards hanging up front. Trippier’s crossing from the right is a potent weapon when the England international is on form, and Sead Kolasinac is hardly the most daunting of opponents Then again, Trippier was already having a bad season before that comical error on Wednesday night.

The 28-year-old has gone 15 league games without recording a goal or assist, his last coming in a 3-2 victory at Wolves back in November. His two best attacking performances in that time were in a 1-0 win over Newcastle (four accurate crosses, four chances created) and a 1-0 defeat to Man Utd (seven acc. crosses, four chances created).

Both of those matches were defined by Spurs dominating possession against a narrow defensive blockade, with Pochettino’s side forced to throw crosses into the box from deep. It’s a situation that could occur for long periods at Wembley as Arsenal patiently wait to counter.

 

4) Could Mkhitaryan, on the counter, make the difference for Arsenal?
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has amassed two goals and three assists in his last two Premier League matches, putting him in contention for a start on Saturday – or at least an important cameo in the second half. The Armenian is very well suited to the quick verticality of Emery’s tactics, so it’s no surprise that he’s starting to come good. Arsenal’s counters, then, may be defined by Mkhitaryan’s sharpness in the final third.

Mesut Ozil was excellent against Bournemouth but Emery doesn’t trust him against the bigger clubs, last starting Ozil against a top-half club way back in November. Consequently Mikhitaryan could get the nod ahead of Aaron Ramsey at the tip of the diamond, giving the rejuvenated playmaker the opportunity to feed Lacazette and Aubameyang from his favoured number ten position. Should Emery deploy a 3-4-2-1, as in the 4-2 victory over Spurs in December, then Mkhitaryan will certainly get a game.

 

5) Will Son’s battle with Jenkinson (or Lichtsteiner) be the key battle?
Both of Arsenal’s full-back positions are highly vulnerable. On the right, Hector Bellerin’s ACL injury has left Emery with an ageing Sebastian Lichtsteiner unable to keep up with the pace of the Premier League, although a relatively assured display by Carl Jenkinson against Bournemouth in midweek means the 27-year-old could be in line for his first back-to-back appearances in an Arsenal shirt since the 2013/14 season.

Whoever Emery chooses, Heung-Min Son will expect to come out on top in his individual battle. Son has been shifted out to the left since Harry Kane’s return, and with Sissoko and Winks struggling to provide tempo (plus Kane looking rusty) there is added pressure on Son to provide a clinical edge to the Tottenham attack. They will lean heavily to the left as a result, making Son versus Jenkinson (or Lichtsteiner) the game’s most intriguing head-to-head.

Alex Keble

Arsenal