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On Saturday, one of the most-awaited games in English football will take place. Two of England’s biggest clubs will go head to head in a match to establish their superiority in North London. It’s the perfect way to start the Premier League weekend, as whenever these two teams clash, it creates fireworks. The meetings between these two teams over the years have seen each side score on 34 occasions, more than any other fixture in the Premier League.
In recent decades, Arsenal have always battered their North London rivals but in recent years, Tottenham have become the more dominant force out of the two. That trend is set to continue and here are the five reasons why Tottenham will beat Arsenal on Saturday.
#5 More tactically versatile
This season alone we’ve seen Tottenham line-up in a 3-4-3, 3-4-2-1 and a 4-2-3-1. Mauricio Pochettino is a man of great tactical flexibility and he looks to adjust his system to every team he plays against. Arsène Wenger, on the other hand, does not possess such flexibility anymore, as he only knows one way of playing, in an attacking manner.
The Frenchman rarely adjusts his style of play for anyone, countless ex-players have come out to say that Wenger only tells his players to ‘play their game’ before a match. Mauricio Pochettino is the epitome of meticulous planning while Arsène Wenger is the definition of the ‘laissez-faire’ approach. And judging by their previous encounters, one approach clearly works better than the other.
#4 Arsenal's record in big games is abysmal
Last season the Gunners only picked up 9 points from a possible 30 against top six opposition. That's abysmal to say the least and it was the lowest total among all the top six teams. In fact, Arsene Wenger's men did not win a single game away from home against those sides. Out of 10 games vs. top six opposition, Arsenal won 2, drew 3 and lost the remaining 5.
Now look at this season, Arsenal have already lost two games to Liverpool and Manchester City, and then failed to beat Chelsea in another. The truth is, Arsenal don't deliver in big games and if we are to be frank, there's no bigger game than the North London Derby.
#3 Best away team in the league
In the year of 2017, no team has won more points away from home than Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspurs. The Lilywhites have won 10 away games in the year of 2017 alone, more than anybody else, including the champions Chelsea and league leaders Manchester City. Tottenham have also scored the most goals away from home this year, with 37 goals.
Clearly, they are not afraid of playing outside of North London, Mauricio Pochettino has turned them into a team capable of dominating others at their own grounds which was clearly visible from their performance at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid. And if you look at the Gunners, you can hardly say they’re a formidable proposition to fear.
#2 The Harry Kane team
Any team that has Harry Kane starting for them up front, has an advantage before the ball is even kicked. Despite pulling out of the England squad for games against Germany and Brazil, the star striker is set to be fit for the monumental clash on Saturday after Mauricio Pochettino confirmed to the press that the 24-year-old would be fit to face the Gunners. That’s a huge boost for Spurs and the fact that he’s been resting for the whole week, will keep him fresh and give him that competitive edge.
This season alone, Harry Kane has scored 13 goals in 14 games for Spurs. Just to put that into perspective, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Özil & Alexis Sánchez have only scored 9 goals between them. Even in terms of creativity, Kane has only provided 1 less assist than the trio put together. Add to his productivity the exploits of Christian Eriksen, Heung Min-Son & Dele Alli and Tottenham better the Gunners in every aspect of firepower.
#1 Pochettino has never lost a league NLD
Since arriving at Tottenham in 2014, Mauricio Pochettino has not lost a single Premier League derby. In the six PL derbies he’s managed, he’s won 2 and drawn 4. Three of those draws took place at the Emirates, meaning the Argentinean has never lost at the Emirates. Furthermore, Arsène Wenger hasn’t beaten Tottenham in the league in three years. I don’t know about you, but I can smell a Jose Mourinho complex coming.
Pochettino seems to have Wenger’s number and his players have picked up on that superiority, thus translating it into confidence. Tottenham are no longer afraid of Arsenal and their manager is the one at the heart of that revolution. To be unbeaten against Wenger in the league means Pochettino has found a winning formula and for that formula to be derailed, Wenger must change his tactics. Knowing the Frenchman’s stubbornness, we doubt the latter will happen anytime soon.
