Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur Preview

The Emirates Stadium is the venue on Sunday February 26 as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur lock horns for what should be another thrilling North London derby.

A recent F.A Cup fifth round defeat at the hands of Sunderland all but condemned the Gunners to a seventh consecutive season without silverware and now it is all about a fourth place finish and Champions League qualification for Arsene Wenger’s team who are demonstrating the traits of a club in crisis.

Arsenal were completely torn apart against AC Milan at the San Siro and further injuries to key members of their squad mean that they are on the brink of destruction – just as their main cross-city rivals excel and go from strength to strength in the race for Premier League honours.

And Tottenham will unquestionably be out to stick yet another knife into the heart of Wenger whose days at the Emirates as boss look numbered.

Spurs have suffered years of being second best to Arsenal in North London however it is now that the tables have really turned.

Tottenham’s rise and improvement has been as emphatic and rapid as Arsenal’s demise and Harry Redknapp’s men now have the honour of consistently entering this famous derby as punters favourites.

The bookmakers have, nevertheless, decided to play rather safe with the home side in this encounter and despite being completely rudderless and stripped to their bare bones, Arsenal assume favouritism at 11/8 with Spurs an 11/5 chance and the draw available at 5/2.

It is not often that the traders get things wrong – especially when it comes to football.

But this particular market appears to be upside down considering that Arsenal have hit rock bottom and Tottenham just cannot stop scoring - and more importantly winning.

To even the most untrained football eye, it has become rather obvious that Arsenal’s squad has gone stale – and aside from star striker Robin Van Persie, it is hard to deduce which Gunners players are actually worthy of pulling on the famous red and white shirt.

The likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wojciech Scziecny clearly offer hope and potential for the future, but it is a distinct lack of quality, impetus and cohesion in the now which is killing Arsenal’s chances of moving forward and succeeding in the short run.

Wenger’s side have been stuck in second gear for quite some time and it is difficult to see how they will cope with an electric Spurs outfit which should run all over them.

In short, the 11/5 about an away success looks just about the bet of the season.

Tottenham are 10 points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League table, a significant buffer which more than indicates the disparity in class between the two teams.

Full back Bacary Sagna is suspect at the best of times and the excellent Gareth Bale is likely to have a field day down the left flank and provide part of the service required to inflict a third straight defeat upon Arsenal.

Modric and Van Der Vaart will also relish the proposition of taking on Mertesacker and co who will surely have no answer to Spurs’ lightning pace and deadly attacking efficiency.

The 11/5 probably won’t be around for too long and is a massive oversight on the bookmakers’ behalf taking the two clubs form and recent fortunes into account.

Spurs should nail this from the off and it would be no surprise to see them win with plenty in hand – leaving Arsenal to further lick their wounds which are increasing week by week as the season reaches its business end.

Go To bet365

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20/02/2012     © Frixo 2024