Morning.
The North London derby is always a huge game in the season, but today’s takes on some extra significance because of results yesterday. Liverpool were beaten at home by Nottingham Forest, and later Man City went to Newcastle and lost. It means a win today would widen the gap to both of those challengers, and with Chelsea closest to us in the table now, a little distance before our trip to Stamford Bridge next weekend would be very useful too.
We know the big decision today for Mikel Arteta is who he chooses to replace the injured Gabriel. We don’t yet know if Riccardo Calafiori is fit enough to be considered for today, I suspect he is, but I also think his consistency at left-back this season means if he is available, that’s where he’s likely to play. So, that leaves Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera to choose from.
The former has yet to start a Premier League game since his loan arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, but if the manager wants to maintain the right-foot/left-foot balance at the heart of his defence, he can provide that. Mosquera has played more for us this season, and acquitted himself really well, but has featured more on the right side. He replaced William Saliba at Anfield, for example, and I wonder if that might come into the thinking. It’s also possible he could shift the Frenchman to the left CB position, and play Mosquera in his more ‘natural’ position.
My gut feeling is that Hincapie will start alongside Saliba, but let’s see. Either way, as much as any team would miss Gabriel, it’s good to have these options available to us. It’s not just his quality as a defender we’ll lack though, but also his set-piece threat up the other end. And as I wrote in midweek, the intangible qualities that the Brazilian’s sheer presence gives you will be a miss. It’s not to say others can’t step up to provide some of that, and Arteta spoke during his press conference about how this game requires a bit extra from the players, saying:
This game demands that in every ball and every action, you have to be at it a bit more than in any other game.
I think midfield more or less picks itself. Even if there’s a nice surprise and Martin Odegaard is ready to return, I don’t think he’s ready to start, so Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze will make up that trio. The wide players pick themselves really. Leandro Trossard is in good form this season, and Bukayo Saka’s place on the right is obvious, not to mention he’ll captain the side today too most likely.
And unless there is a return for Viktor Gyokeres, we’ll see Mikel Merino start up front. At home, in a game where we’ll want to play a lot in the opposition half, I think it’s important we get him into positions where we know he can actually cause them problems with his finishing ability, both with his feet and head. I feel sometimes he can play the role in a way which, understandably, sees him default to his midfield roots a bit, but he has to occupy their defenders, and crucially we need to get others close to him to support him in their box.
Last season, we often saw Declan Rice crash the box late to play close to Merino, especially with crosses coming in from wide areas, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see that again today. And with Eze in the team, we have a player who likes to get into central positions to get shots off, and I wonder if we’ll see him play closer to Merino than Odegaard typically would. Not quite a ‘right 8’, but something more akin to a 10 as we’ve known it.
Those connections will be important against a team built by Thomas Frank to be much more difficult to break down than the previous iteration of Sp*rs. They also have a very good record away from home this season, so we need to mindful of how they might look to threaten on the break in a game you expect Arsenal to dominate in terms of possession and territory. His sides are always tough to play against, we had issues with Brentford at home, and that’s another layer to the challenge we face today.
Nevertheless, this feels like a real moment in this season. A good week could be absolutely huge in the title race, and no doubt that – on top of everything else that comes with this game – will be part of Arteta’s message to his players. Stand up and be counted, not just in terms of the derby, but also our credentials as potential Premier League winners. The quality is there for Arsenal to do that, even without Gabriel, but each game is its own challenge once it kicks off, and it’s about managing that and producing the kind of performance that elicits the three points at the final whistle.
This is one of those where the crowd can play a big part, where the first tackle can play a big part, where the smallest thing can have a huge effect on how it plays out, so let’s hope we’re on top of everything. At it a bit more, as Arteta says. Maybe even a lot more. I could certainly live with that.
As ever you can join us for live blog coverage, as well as the report, player ratings, reaction, and all the rest on Arseblog News. For now, have a good one, and come on you reds!
