Arsenal rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a huge north London derby at the Emirates Stadium tonight, with either club desperate for a win at a Premier League level of the season.
As clubs enter the moment portion of the EPL campaign, the Gunners sit third at the table, seven leaders of leaders Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, placed in the moment, with a game in hand.
This adjustment takes position today, with Arsenal in front of a Tottenham that is suffering from the shape of the league.
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It is a match that, on paper, deserves to offer a victory for the home team, but the intense character of the local derbies can be of a high level.
And with Arsenal struggling in form, thanks to a pair of home defeats in both English football’s Domestic Cup competitions, added tension to the Gunners as they head into tonight’s clash under the UAE’s spotlight.
Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle United in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals, then drew 1-1 last weekend against Manchester United before squandering the consequences of being knocked out of the FA Cup in the 3rd round. Formation
Former Premier League striker and BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton called the match a match the Gunners must win if they want to keep the season alive.
“Arsenal have had a bad week and at the moment it looks like Tottenham have a better chance of winning a trophy this season than them,” he said.
“People rightly point out that the gunners are lacking and, with Bukayo Saka injured, they are lacking that spark in attack.
“Having said all that, maybe they are located here because I think the way the Spurs play will adapt to Arsenal. “
Arsenal won’t want to surrender any further ground to Liverpool in the title race, and Gunners boss Arteta has called on the club’s fans to crank up the atmosphere for the match in a bid to inspire his players to bounce back to the form that has seen them go unbeaten in their last 12 league games at home.
“There are many things that are very complicated and perceive that they are happening,” said Arteta.
“But there are ones that are in our hands. Let’s create the best atmosphere that the Emirates has seen. This is something that is in our hands. And if we want it, we will create it.
“The players and staff are the first ones to embrace that and hopefully the fans will follow us, because it is crucial for Tottenham and the rest of the matches this season.
“I cannot describe how much it helps the narrative, and the energy across the club. We have experienced it before: a negative one and a positive one. And what was the outcome? So it is our choice.”
For Tottenham, it’s a chance to return to winning ways after a poor run of form during the busy holiday period that has seen them win just once in their last eight Premier League outings. Since the start of December, only Leicester City and Southampton have earned fewer points than Tottenham, who have managed to add just five points to their total.
This means that Spurs have 15 fewer problems than at the same time last year, with the Lilywhites currently languishing in 13th place in the Premier League, 8 problems ahead of the relegation zone.
One man Spurs will be relying on is striker Dominic Solanke, who has notched 11 goals and six assists so far this season. The former Bournemouth frontman has had a happy knack of opening the scoring for his side this season, and Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will be hoping his in-form forward can step up again against their cross-town rivals.
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“I don’t know who else could support him. I’m just that they have given us,” said Postecoglou.
“He’s been great for us and I really feel there is more to him and his game. We’ll be able to get more out of him if we can get him some help.”
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Solanke could take advantage of an essential piece in attack, since Postcoglou revealed that Brazilian striker Richarlison was legally recovered from an lesion in the corva’s tendon that forced him to be ongoing since the beginning of November.
“He harassed me for 10 days to get me involved,” Postcoglou said.
“It’s great to recover it,” said Postecoglou. “He had an unfortunate season for us.
“It’s just his fights and rays, he also has quality.
“Just having an extra attacking player – with him and Mikey (Moore) available now – makes such a difference in what we can do during games and between games in the way we play.
“We have taken our time with him this time, for sure. He has kind of been harassing me for the last 10 days to be involved but we have been disciplined with that and he has looked really good in training. He looks ready to go, so really happy to get him back involved.”
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Based in Rochester, England, Simon Head is an experienced sports player who has covered sports for domestic and foreign media since 2000 and is one of the oldest MMA Newshounds in the UK.
Since 2009, Simon has covered MMA for a host of major outlets across the world, including BBC Sport, BBC Three, MMA Junkie/USA Today, BT Sport, Daily Mirror, The Sun and The National UAE, as well as providing official content to several of the world’s top MMA organizations, including UFC, ONE Championship, Cage Warriors and the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF).
Simon also directed the virtual sports of two national newspapers in the United Kingdom, helped launch a main sports station in the United Kingdom and coordinated the policy of the 2012 London Olympic Games, the world cups of FIFA, the European championships of the UEFA, the Fa Cup finals, Formula 1 and MotoGP.