Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal
English Premier League
Date: Sunday, 30th April 2017
Kick off at 16:30 UK/ 17:30 CET
Venue: White Hart Lane.
Great Odin’s Raven, Christian Eriksen is spectacular at football! Tottenham’s Danish playmaker was omnipotent throughout the Crystal Palace match and put in a sensational shift when Spurs needed him the most. With Tottenham anxiously searching for a breakthrough, Eriksen had the only goal and match-winner, yet was truly fantastic for ninety minutes. Simply put, it was among the most important individual performances of the season and among the greatest outings of Christian Eriksen’s Spurs career.
It cannot be stated how massive that win really was. Sandwiched between two blockbuster London derbies, with cups and decades long narratives at stake, back-to-back losses would rattle anyone heading into a fixture that is as gargantuan as Sunday’s. With the win Spurs retain their stronghold on second place and remain within striking distance of top of the table Chelsea. With the Manchester Derby draw, Tottenham have put nine and ten points between themselves and City and United, while also maintaining an eight point lead over Liverpool, having played one less game. Sixth placed Arsenal, playing just one match less than Tottenham Hotspur, sit fourteen points behind their North London rivals. MIND THE GAP!
This is far from a vintage Arsenal side, but the second half of their season, as chronicled by every soccer website known to humankind, has been really bad. Their embarrassment to Bayern Munich is the most obvious example of the drudgery they’ve been capable of, but they’ve just simply lost an unusual amount of games over the past few months. Since January they’ve fell to Watford, Chelsea, Liverpool, Munich twice, West Brom, and Crystal Palace. They’ve also dropped points to Bournemouth and City in that span. This, and the fact that they’ve looked disinterested and apathetic for stretches in many of these matches, and Arsenal F.C. look in disarray. That said, they’ve been pretty good in the last week. An FA Cup victory over City has breathed some life back into their season and a midweek win at Leicester kept them within striking distance of the top four.
Arsenal, as always, have real talent going forward. Alexis, however many rows he has with Arsene Wenger, is a bonafide superstar and a handful in the attack. Mesut Ozil can disappear for games at a time, but also, when motivated, be world-class. Though its important to note that he is never quite as good as Dele Alli. Coquelin still plays for Arsenal, which is weird, and their defense can kind of be all over the place. Depending on the match they can be stout or careless, yet with forty goals against, they are far from formidable.
The nerves in this one have arrived early. A win all but secures a finish above the Scum and keeps us in the hunt for first place, while a loss keeps Arsenal close to the top four and provides them with a revolting amount of ammunition to talk smack against Spurs over the summer; even with their dismal 2016-17 campaign. Its the last North London derby at White Hart Lane and the single most important North London Derby that I can remember — the energy on the pitch will be extraordinary.
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Head to head
Arsenal lead the tie by 17 wins ahead of the 167th North London derby.
It is interesting to note that none of the previous three head to head meetings offered a winner, while each of the last six encounters saw the option of both teams netting.
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Prediction
The Spurs have been almost impeccable at White Hart Lane throughout the season.
They have been enjoying a much better shape, and there is just no better moment for them to claim the victory over the arch-rivals but this.
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Bet Tips
The first bet is Tottenham to win at 17/20.
The second pick will be Harry Kane to score anytime at the odds of 4/5.
