The much-awaited North-London derby is all set to take place this weekend as Arsenal lock horns with their fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur in what will be one of the most highly anticipated matches of this season.
Spurs have dropped 37 points from leading positions in Premier League games against Arsenal – more than any team has against another in the competition’s history.
3 – total Wembley meetings – Spurs won a more memorable cup semi two years previously, while the 1991 Charity Shield was drawn 0-0.
While Keown admitted that it is hard to man mark Kane, the former Gunners defender urged Arsene Wenger to get his players to pay special attention to the Tottenham marksman, particularly at set-pieces.
Spurs have no suspended players.
Mauricio Pochettino was able to make 10 changes from the side that had drawn 2-2 against Liverpool the previous Sunday; Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose and Harry Winks were given their first starts since returning from injury; and Spurs cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory without ever really getting out of second gear.
“The derby is special for everyone and Wembley is starting to feel good”.
It could mean that the England striker makes the bench for the clash with Spurs in 48 hours’ time and would provide an attacking fillip to Wenger, who has been shorn of Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud who departed the club in the January window.
Nacho Monreal is expected to recover from his illness in time for Saturday, but both Danny Welbeck and Petr Cech will undergo late fitness tests before the match to determine whether they can play.
Seamus Coleman is expected to come back into the Everton team after being left out of the squad for the defeat to Arsenal last week.
“We had a few problems with Cech, who we are not sure about at the moment because he’s not trained”. “You never know in football what can happen, so right now, I’m focused with Dortmund, and yeah, that’s that”. Monreal looks alright again. “After the last training session, I hope that he is still doing well and we can put him in contention”.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are without the injured Santi Cazorla.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looked a real threat and scored on his debut so I think he’ll keep his place up front with Alexandre Lacazette having to make-do with a place among the substitutes. The match is live on BT Sport.
It was a distillation of the high-tempo pressing game in which the Argentinian has made Spurs experts – one which also appears to be an Achilles heel for Arsenal.Should Mauricio Pochettino need further cause for optimism, it can be found in the manner in which Erisken scored that goal against United.