It’s Derby Day. It’s Totts v Arsenal and It’s big.
They don’t like us, we don’t like them and they’ll be out to put another dent in our challenge for the league title. Who wants this more?
Totts need points to avoid a relegation battle and they go into this game under yet another new manager, albeit this one is an interim appointment until the summer.
Totts last win came against Crystal Palace back in December. 2026 has seen them draw four and lose four and they’ve won just two home fixtures so far this season. But, at 2-0 down against Man City just a few weeks ago, they fought back to draw so there’s some fight in them.
Form kind of goes out the window when this fixture comes around though which as far as Arsenal go, that might not be a bad thing. lol
Tudor has always had a very clear philosophy. His teams are aggressive on and off the ball, so when we have possession at the back, it’s highly likely Spurs will adopt a hostile man-to-man press. Creating chances through high turnovers is one of his key strategies, but this will represent a big change for Tottenham who currently rank 19th for shots from high turnovers.
The key man in this regard could be attacking midfielder Xavi Simons. The young Belgian has won possession inside the final third 18 times this season, the joint most of any top-flight player. With a couple of assists to his name in 2026, he is also in good form creatively.
Tudor’s stock formation is 3-4-2-1, using a back three in 95% of games in his last three roles. With injuries causing selection issues, that could mean we see Joao Palhinha alongside Radu Dragusin and Micky van de Ven if he goes with his favoured shape. It should be noted that in that formation under Thomas Frank, Spurs did struggle.
On the ball, Tudor’s teams are renowned for their chaos. He encourages players to readily rotate positions, with centre-backs pushing forward, midfielders pulling wide, and wing-backs often popping up behind the striker. This can create confusion for opponents, and the speedy Van de Ven might be a threat in forward areas.
Injuries:
Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka should be fine for today but both Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are doubts. Mikel Merino is sidelined for the foreseeable.
Totts have a number of injuries; Richarlison, Porro, Udogie, Bentacur, Kudus, Bergvall, Odobert, Kulusevski, Maddison and Davies are all ruled out. As is Romero through suspension.
We need to see a ten out of ten performance today from every single player who steps foot on the pitch. Eight or nine great performances isn’t good enough, it has to be all sixteen should Arteta use all five substitutes. From the first whistle, we have to get at them. Don’t let them settle or take control of the game. Shut the noisy people in the stands up because I’m sure they will be overly excited about the arrival of a new manager, optimistic that he’s the real deal.
But it’s not just from the first whistle Arsenal need to be at it, it’s as the final whistle approaches too because we’ve been conceding too many late goals. The worst of course was in our last game against Wolves which could only be down to a lack of concentration. Or a lack of communication between Gabriel and Raya. Never again please.
I’m sure we have all read or heard what Mikel Arteta and Declan Rice have said after the Wolves game, to be fair, we’ve heard it all before and many times. Not just since Arteta took over but before too. Talking is fine but it’s what happens on the pitch which matters. On the sidelines too. Winning matters, playing well matters and the fans matter.
Beating Totts matters so just do it Arsenal…..
Catch up in the comments.
Quite a rallying cry Rico , Attitude is the word of the day if we have it we win , if not we struggle. Recent events have proven that a two goal lead doesn’t make safety , should we get one we need to keep going we need a third and a fourth.
Perhaps the word rotation is overused and the need to preserve energy has led to this tactic to drop back and try to protect narrow leads , maybe the opposite needs to be encouraged , keep the ball , don’t boot it anywhere , don’t take off your forwards to bring on defenders and lastly don’t give up the midfield to put 6 men across the back .
It doesn’t work.
Good morning Rico.
Up and at em! That’s the way to do it. No farting around in our own area, get the ball up field quickly, if there’s a chance of a shot, from anywhere, take it. Oh, clearances, put the boot through them and get as much distance as possible.
There yer go, Arteta’s pre- match instructions in a couple of sentences. 😉
Morning Potter, Cicero, all.
I’ve tried, just hope the players are as up for this as we are..
Totally agree, up and at them.
Get back to what serves us well but do it quickly and decisively.
Afternoon all,
I hate the build up to this game,the exhilarating feeling when Arsenal win is the best feeling in football though.
The build up has been all about Arsenal bottling it. I’ve stayed away as far as possible,even when watching the cricket they are advertising today’s game.
I read yesterday’s post,doesn’t Declan Rice speak well,however I want to see our football do the talking.
Fingers crossed.