Morning all.
There’s a lot of talk right now about how the neighbours are a better club than their north London rivals. A suggestion which I find quite laughable. Yes, right now they have a better manager as far as tactics and motivational skills go but until Mauricio Pochettino wins something with his group of players, he ain’t done nothing yet.
Last season, like for us, it was a great chance to become league champions but they bottled it with just a few games to go. We bottled it long before them though, yet somehow managed to claw our way into second place, albeit many points behind Leicester.
Over the last couple of seasons, we haven’t been able to beat the neighbours either at home or away in the league, in fact one has to go back to March 2014 for a victory when Tomas Rosicky secured us all three points. We’ve beaten them in the League Cup though and that was in 2015 thanks to two super goals from Mathieu Flamini but other than those two fixtures, honours have often been even since 2014 apart from two years ago when Harry Kane put two past us to take all the points.
Arsene Wenger, in his 21 years as Arsenal manager has lost just seven matches against Sunday’s opposition which isn’t too bad really considering the two sides have met on forty-nine occasions but even seven is too many against them.
As the Totts build their new stadium and money being tighter, they may just go through a few financial restraints as we did when we moved but they have been smart as they’ve tied down most of their players to long term contracts. However, it won’t be long before the ‘big clubs’ come calling for some of their players, just as they did ours. More money will be on offer for the players across Europe and we know only too well that when big money is waved under a players nose, they move and I don’t think many of the Totts players are on a top notch salary right now.
If they opt to play their games at Wembley next season, it could be the worst decision the club makes.
Going back to their players, I don’t believe they have many players better than ours. Yes, Harry Kane is a great striker but other than him, is there anyone you’d love to see Arsene Wenger steal from them? I’m not sure I would because I truly believe in most of the players we have and I’m sure if Mauricio Pochettino or someone of his ilk was coaching them, we’d see this team playing much better football.
Saying that, there’s been a glimpse of improvement of late. It’s early days of the new defensive system but it’s certainly been more effective than playing four at the back. We defend in numbers as seen against Man City and if we can keep their strike force to scoring just the one goal, I’m sure we can keep the Totts from scoring too.
Tottenham might be playing the better football this season but the reality is, if every one of our players head into this fixture with the same amount of passion and desire to win the game as we Arsenal fans do, there’s no reason why we can’t beat them.
Do that and we can all laugh about the suggestion of the power in North London shifting because it’s not and it never will.
Finally, Laurent Koscielny is 60/40% to play on Sunday, but Mustafi is ruled out.
Nice post Rico… how many of the spurs players would I put In the Arsenal team..
Lloris atm is better than cech imo.
Rose. I’d say he’s better than Gibbs & monreal
Alderweild imo is very solid
Dembele. I’d probably take over xhaka/coq
Kane I’d take over Theo/Giroud/Danny.
there is a reason we haven’t beat them in 3 seasons.. they’re the better unit atm..
Sad but true.
There isn’t a power shift, Tottenham are just a better side than Arsenal at the moment. Historically they have been similar clubs with similar fan bases, but Wenger and Dein had a vision while Sugar did not. The new training ground and stadium were crucial to Arsenal and having a brilliant manager and sticking with him left Tottenham (and most other clubs) far behind. 20 or 30 years later Tottenham are doing the same. The training facilities are much better than Arsenal’s and the stadium will be as well. This is inevitable as they were built (no expense spared) much later. In time it is likely that the clubs will be of a similar size once again.
There are a few things worth pointing out. The billionaires at City and Chelsea have changed the landscape completely so it may be that both Tottenham and Arsenal struggle to win the league, in particular, and trophies in general. Arsenal don’t even bother with attempting to win the Champions League and have not sustained a league challenge for many years. There are now 6 top teams in England with the possibility of Everton making 7. The two horse race of Manchester United and Arsenal is long gone.
Discussing whether Tottenham’s players are better than Arsenal’s is a pointless argument. Great players do not necessarily make a great team so even if all of Arsenal’s players were, in theory, better than Tottenham’s is irrelevant if they end below Tottenham. Most experts suggest that only Sanchez would get into the Tottenham team. Certainly to suggest that only Kane is worth stealing is the most ridiculous comment I have ever read and I certainly don’t believe for a moment you believe this. The Tottenham centre backs are in a different league to Arsenal’s as are both the full backs. Eriksen is outplaying the disgraceful Ozil and Alli has 20 goals from midfield and is 21. Both Tottenham’s ‘holding’ midfielders are better than Arsenal’s.
As for the big clubs coming to take Tottenham’s players. Arsenal have lost many more players that they wanted to keep than Tottenham. In Tottenham’s case they lost just 4. Carrick and Berbatov to United and Modric and Bale to Real Madrid. The profit was £125m (a lot of which Tottenham blew). Real may offer £100m for Alli and that might be too good for Tottenham to turn down, but they certainly don’t need to sell and their players are on long contracts. I would suggest it is more likely that Sanchez and Ozil will leave than any of Tottenham’s top players.
The Wembley decision is the only decision. Tottenham cannot play at Arsenal or West Ham and all the other options are far too small in capacity. So, for one season, they will have to get used to Wembley and it may cost them top 4, but that’s the price for building the best ground in the country with the largest capacity in London. This is Tottenham’s attempt at a ‘game changer’ which will help them compete with the billionaires or (as seems likely) to sell to a billionaire.
The non stop blogs by Arsenal fans saying there is no power shift demonstrates that Arsenal fans think there has been. There simply wouldn’t be any point writing so many if there wasn’t. I think the clubs will become very similar in size and stature. Tottenham will never catch Arsenal’s amount of trophies because there are too many team competing for honours, but they have, for now, become a better team than Arsenal.
In the summer Arsenal may get a dynamic young manager; they may finally splash the cash. Tottenham won’t because they can’t yet so Arsenal may kick on and end above Tottenham next year especially with the Wembley factor. What is noticeable is that since some complete idiot ‘invented’ St Totteringham’s Day Arsenal’s focus appears to be to end above Tottenham. It is during this time that they have stopped competing for the League and Champions League so it has become a self fulfilling prophecy. Arsenal, and their fans, should stop obsessing about Tottenham and start thinking about how they can compete against Chelsea, Barca, Bayern and Real amongst others. These clubs don’t see Arsenal as a threat. St Totteringham’s Day has a lot to answer for.
Thanks Kel. I agree on Lloris, he’s a great keeper…
Ed, I can’t work out if you are an Arsenal fan or a Tottenham fan.
Neither
Makes sense.
I don’t agree with everything that Ed says, but I do agree with the St Totteringham Day nonsense, although I don’t see it as Arsenal fans obsessing with Tottenham, I see it more as an attempt to deflect attention away from the fact that Arsenal have failed to compete over a complete season for the EPL since around 2005 when we came 3rd to the Mancs and Mourinho. The pro-Wenger faction use the St Totts rubbish endlessly, it also serves to cover the lack of ambition from our Owner/Board.
Morning All
Morning Rico
Saying that Arsenal and Tottenham are similar in size is like saying that Liverpool and Everton are the same or Man City and Man Utd are similar or Chelsea and West Ham, it’s a bit more nuanced than that.
Explain what you mean and who said that Arsenal and Tottenham are similar in size?
Not Inter, Juve! Sorry, had a Wenger moment!?
Morning Kev. I too think St Tots day is a load of rubbish really. Yes it’s always nice to finish above them but we should be aiming for the title, not the neighbours…
Your first paragraph suggested that Ed.
🙂 Wavy, it’s catching..
‘Historically they have been similar clubs with similar fan bases, but Wenger and Dein had a vision while Sugar did not’. Pretty clear. This was over 20 years ago which is a lifetime in football.
Good post Rico, Mustafi being out again is a bit of a worry as starting with Koscielny is a risk, not sure he’d last the entire game, we might finish the game with Monreal in the three or have to switch back to a back four…
Harry Kane has the sign on us, like Aguero and Rooney, he’s bound to score, so we’ve got to get one or two ourselves.
Interesting how ordinary Kane looks when playing in an England shirt.
Rose, Walker, Alli, et al, they all look ordinary in an England shirt, why is that? They’re either good players or they are not…
The Tottenham players look good for Tottenham because they are well coached and a proper team. England are not well coached and are not as good a team as any of the top 6 in the Premier League. Even the smaller countries have good coaches who can organise their teams. The quality in the premier league is awful outside the top 7. The ‘there is no easy game in the premier league’ mantra has never been further from the truth. Tottenham’s goal difference is 47! A few years ago it was only just positive! They cannot be that good. (Kane did start well for England but quickly seems to have caught the malaise.)
Thanks Kev.
Agree re the Totts players for England, they were dreadful last summer…
Not sure what’s wrong with Mustafi….
A lot of Ed’s comments are on the money , In my childhood Spurs were the more successful team and had a brief spell of being far superior. I saw them win the league in 1961 I was 13 at the time but he is right to say that Spurs did not take advantage of their superiority following their double team in 61. The Arsenal had a brief resurgence around 70 /71 but it was not until the Dein Wenger combo which had the vision to push Arsenal forward that we stretched away from them. We have enjoyed a 20 odd year superiority in which I would suggest the jealousy of supporters was firmly from a Spurs side where Arsenal was their goal. Perhaps they are reaching that position now where the gap has closed and it is now nip and tuck again. The next few years will define whether things have changed for good . I believe however that once their refinancing is complete we will revert to having a real footballing rivalry as opposed to the one upmanship which has been the way of the world..
It’s one season Rico, it’s like Everton finishing above Liverpool, it’s temporary, wait until the Spuds rock into Wembley for a season.
And moving into another new stadium the season after, a la Olympic Stafium.
It’s gonna be very interesting, so maybe that mob from Middlesex should really enjoy this season because it could well be as good as it’s going to get…
Hi Rico
The Spuds have a Eriksen very underrated in my opinion and has been consistent.
The rest are pumped up players that will not last long.Rely heavily the team on sheer phisicality and we know that will not last long.
Delle Ali …the verdict is still out for me.I like his ghosty movement but i suspect is too weak phisically and other teams will nullify him phisically ala Ozil.
One season wonder at best
It is interesting reading comments from a neutral position. The comment from Alex is classic and utterly ridiculous as he knows while he writes it. Dele Alli cannot be a one season wonder as he has already had 2 good seasons. I read a few (sorry hundreds) of Arsenal and other fans saying the same about Kane – now whatever happened to him? Let’s talk about physicality. It is a (maybe the) crucial part of the modern game and the main reason why Arsenal are no longer a threat. So why are Tottenham ‘pumped up players that will not last long’? Being one eyed is all very well, but talking nonsense isn’t. And Dele Alli lacking physicality. Wow. What planet are you on? He is 6 foot 2, a fantastic athlete, strong and fit and tough as anything. He is cunning, devious and sly. He is everything that Ozil lacks. Teams have not nullified him for 2 years so why will they now? Physicality is the one thing that can last because you can just get another physical player. Is Wanyama a great footballer? No. Is he a physical player the type Arsenal need? Yes. You will forever be the person remembered for saying about a player who improves with every game and who has already had 2 good seasons (and 2 young player) awards as ‘a one season wonder at best’. What on earth were you thinking (nothing obviously) when you wrote that? But comment of the season without doubt.
Ed, not really sure why you need to suggest others views on here are utterly ridiculous! Here on HH it’s about having an opinion and Alex has his.
If you can’t play by the rules, it’s perhaps best you comment on a blog which is writes about a team you actually support…
I reckon so too Kev, especially if and when Wenger is replaced.
Hi Alex.
Sorry. Is this site meant just for Arsenal fans who agree with each other? If so, what would be the point of it? Happy to move on and read other sites and won’t use yours for my job. Stating that someone who is just completing their second excellent season is a ‘one season wonder’ is utterly ridiculous. Stating that Alli is too weak when experts want him to tone down his physicality is equally so. But if you don’t want people to disagree or provoke a decent argument/conversation that’s fine. All the best with the blog and enjoy your trip to WHL on Sunday.
Hi Rico and all.
Wow, what a question.
The problem for me is that Arsenal are broken.
They feel absolutely no urgency to respond to what their so-called rivals are doing.
Just like Chelsea becoming the first London club to win the CL. We’re still waiting for an Arsenal response five years on, but there’s none forthcoming.
Arsenal’s self-imposed frugality and the willingness to go the extra mile to save a £1 here and there has actually cost them £millions in terms of potential revenue.
Arsenal refuse to dine at the top table because they refuse to pay what it takes to get there, and if they don’t address this their brand will shrink into irrelevance.
Any potential ‘power’ Arsenal have is being completely wasted. For Arsenal to reach their fullest potential, their model and philosophy needs to drastically change.
I guess the answer is, between the two club’s, who has the highest ceiling for growth, and which of the two are the braver going forward.
But the current Arsenal are quite passive and seem happy to be overtaken by PL rivals, and it appears they’re quite content with our neighbours doing the same.
The Germans, what do they know about football, and Ozil, he’s no match for the mighty Deli Alli, as the European Championships showed…
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/mesut-ozil-named-germanys-player-of-the-year-for-fifth-time-as-arsenal-star-dominates-public-vote-a3440996.html%3Famp
Alex I wouldn’t say he’s a one season wonder tbh he’s not technically gifted ie a Cazorla but he’s a young hungry and tough player..
In fairness though let’s see how he goes over the next 2 seasons now that he’s highly regarded. Is he a lampard 15-20 goals a season for a decade? or a Ramsey one good season now and again.
Anyhow that’s enough talking about them wankers FOYS
So who’s the backline for Sunday… a 3 or 4???
We don’t all agree Ed, many have differing opinions but that’s all they are, not factual but opinions…
Hi Herb.
That’s Arsene’s philosophy isn’t it? Buy cheap and buy second best most of the time….
🙂 Kev.
Kel, I guess it depends on whether Kos is fit. If he is, I reckon he’ll stick with three at the back.
Hi Rico
Yes, sadly. Ray Parlour said as much on TalkSport a little while ago.
If any player defines Wenger’s management of Arsenal since the stadium move, it’s poster-boy Theo Walcott.
Absolute garbage as a footballer who Wenger has continually vastly over-rewarded. In fact, such has been Wenger’s generosity, if I was Theo’s father I’d be demanding DNA tests.
And going for years with Giroud as his main striker is equally as short-sighted as thinking Almunia is world-class.
He really is a poor manager.
Not to mention Sanogo Herb. Reality is, there’s been so many…..
And there’s still no accountability, Rico.
It’s as though us Arsenal fans are living in some darkly perverse parallel universe where Karma is taking some sort of long over-due revenge.
Wenger’s continued employment at Arsenal defies all logic and common-sense. For that reason, I can only summise that he sold his soul to Satan. His desperation to cling to power in an environment where he is nowhere near competitive enough is extremely strange.
Agree Herb, seems like Ivan and Sir Chips are trying though.
Hi Ed, Kel
The one season wonder ……i meant for a team in general not specifically for any particular player.
Delle Ali rough him a bit and half job done.So no much to add.But he is kid that is growing and the verdict is open for me.I am not carried out much like you Ed.
Physical build is essential yes and as you mention exactly that is what is not in Arsenal team.Physically shot since the Everton game and they are just just recovering.
Having said that i believe technically sound team lasts more than those phisically pumped one.Phisical strength goes only upto some point. I look at the team in the relegation battle they are all physically good built athlete but they are less technical and they are where they are for a reason.
And we are where we are exactly for the same reason.No physicality and no technicality specially since Santi absence
Is worth to remember that our own awful season make the spuds look glorious.And yes it is nothing more than one season wonder.
I hope the club (not Arsene) lessons are learn and they will be back where they belong.
COYG
Evening Rico and All
Ali is top grade with an eyecatching Nasty Streak.
If he turns out to be a one season pony..Great YipHe
Funny how a couple of wins has calmed the Gooners down
a little.
For me the spuds have found a gooden in Poch.
But….Leopards and Spots under Levy…Lets Hope.
The problem we have is moving forward
Yer..The tills are rattling..But….not the swords.
We’re stuck with Arsene and The Syrup.
For me the Positive has been our great fans
even though we have got stuffed,these fans turn up
the next game and get the banners out.
I’m backing on them to get him out.
Evening Fred, without Poch, who knows where they would be but I bet if Wenger was managing them, they wouldn’t be where they are now…
Three wins means nothing to me at all….
My day is done. Nighty all….
Evening all and thanks Rico.
Spuds will play next season at Wembley ..it`s on BBC and add Delle Alli to the ever growing list of players Wenger was looking at !………..le Prof has admitted it !…………………not sure if he looked at Eriksen, but if you cant take the advice of God who said he was some player, then what can I say ?…………maybe Wenger was listening to DB10`s statue instead of the great man himself !.
Wenger must be doing something right though as we are one point better off than at same stage last season ! 😯
Isaac Hayden scores for Newcastle…
He’s gonna be a good player for them.
Hey Rick, are you out there?
Gr8 post rico
Look let’s be honest here, if The Arsenal is the elephant in the room, Tottenham is the pimple on its arse?
Tottenham, after 20 years can finally say they are the best in North London. Meanwhile in that 20 years The Arsenal has become a world wide brand. Tottenham are seen in the same ranks as Newcastle, Everton, West Ham, etc. No one has really heard of Tottenham outside of England. When you mention Tottenham to people, they say that’s where Adele is from?
it is nice though to stand back, and see the bigger picture with total impartiality. I can do it watching games on TV, and see what’s what.
However, when it means so much, and hurts so much to see your team lose, you only see what you want to see sometimes.
I said last season that Leicester had ‘the perfect storm’, but for one season only. That they were ‘one season wonders’.
To a degree, I was right, and they came unravelled early on this season, after losing a couple of important players, and replacing them with nobodies. Sacked CR, and improved somewhat.
I don’t like Delle Ali, I can’t put my finger on it, but something about him puts me off, but I do recognise he is a very talented player, and will probably improve as he matures as a player.
For me their defender, Alderweild is a different class, as is Kane.
It grieves me to say that, but heyho, it is what it is.
Arsenal are mediocre now, in every department. It will only get worse next year when the top teams get their acts together and spend hundreds of millions on players.
That we are even considering giving wheelchair a new contract says it all really for me about our ambitions.
Meerkat
In football terms, no Arsenal supporter has ever been to Struggle Town, apart from maybe that year in the 70’s The Club dabbled with relegation. But apart from that, Arsenal supporters have been blessed. And you know why they’ve been blessed, because history proves that when ever The Club has hit a snag, the right decisions are made. That is why I believe Arsene Wenger will leave @ the end of the season after stopping Spurs from winning the PL & winning the FA Cup.
Going forward though? I constantly see where fans talk about competing with barcelonely & Real Boring, etc. The Arsenal should be looking to dominate those clubs, become much stronger on & off the field, not just compete with them. Unfortunately, to do that you need a majority shareholder who has the same ambition. There’s the problem going forward, it’s Mr Kranky The Arsenal Poo.
Morning Rico and all. I see the Emirates was in lights last night.
Morning Adam and all.
Marble Arch and Highbury too – they looked great… 🙂
New post up now.
Thanks GG by the way…