Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson delivers his verdict ahead of Tottenham vs Arsenal clash
With the international break going on, it is going to be more than 10 days before we watch Tottenham Hotspur back in action.
Having lost 2-1 to Newcastle United away despite dominating large parts of the game, the Spurs players have headed to their respective countries in a negative frame of mind. It was disappointing for Big Ange and Co. to have tasted defeat so early into the new season. Moreover, they also dropped points in the 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Leicester City on matchweek one.
Even so, Tottenham will be hoping for a major comeback, even if it is against our North London rivals, Arsenal in the first game after the international break. Having managed only one point across the two North London derbies last season, we hope Big Ange and his boys will have what it takes to win the bragging rights this time around.
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Arsenal, like Spurs, have already suffered an early blip in the season, dropping points in the 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion at home before the break. Plus, Declan Rice is not available for the derby after being shown two yellow cards against Brighton, while their skipper Martin Odegaard is supposedly injured. So, there is a real sense that Mikel Arteta’s side could see their title challenge extinguished before it is even started.
And Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has now shared his honest verdict on Tottenham’s clash against cross-town rivals Arsenal. The Magic man, as fondly called, has predicted that Arteta’s men to be in for a tough challenge against Big Ange’s lads with central midfielder Rice unavailable.
“I was very bullish last time, I ain’t sure this time. Declan Rice is a big miss, it’s a big two games for Arsenal. If they don’t get four points out of their next two games, they will be right up against it, so it’s a big football match,” Paul Merson told on Sky Sports.
“I don’t think the fixtures have been kind for Arsenal at the start of the season, I know they sort of settle their way in the end, but you don’t want to be playing catch-up with Man City. If they don’t win this game and then they get beat by Man City, they could be seven, eight, nine points behind City, and that would be miles too many.”
Spurs, like our bitter rivals, are in equally desperate to get back to winning ways and find some momentum in the season. The way Big Ange’s side have played doesn’t really equate to the results they have got. We should have easily got nine points from the opening three games but lie 10th in the table with only four points.
We can take solace from the fact that Rice is unavailable for the mega clash and the Gunners haven’t really hit their straps thus far. Yet, Arsenal are a quality squad and the onus will be on us to take the game to them, not allow our rivals to come at our perch and dominate the proceedings—like they did at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season.
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Our players should ideally not require motivation to compete in the North London derby, and if we can win the contest, not only can Big Ange’s men get some much-needed momentum but also at the same time puncture our rivals’ title hopes so early in the campaign.
