Defensive shuffles should not stop Arsenal against Tottenham

Arsenal will prepare for their big Premier League clash against fierce rivals Tottenham with the news that French defender Bacary Sagna is fit to play.

Sagna might be available, but I’m not expecting him to start against TottenhamArsenal will be without William Gallas, Emmanuel Eboue and Jens Lehmann who are all out through various injuries as well as Philippe Senderos, who will serve a one-match ban for his red card against Portsmouth. However, manager Arsene Wenger revealed that Sagna will be available for the game after recovering from a back injury suffered in the league match against Manchester City.

“Bacary Sagna is available again. He still has some pain but he should be OK if needed. However we won’t have William Gallas available because it is too early for him. Emmanuel Eboue is still out too. He has not recovered from his ankle injury. Jens Lehmann pulled out of the second German game. His elbow has blown up, it is bad bruising so we have to be patient with him.”

I don’t know about you but the words ‘he should be OK if needed’ suggest to me that Sagna will not be starting the match. As a result, I expect Mathieu Flamini to build on his fine performance against Portsmouth and slot in at right back. There is also the suggestion that Lassana Diarra or Justin Hoyte could start there, but I don’t think it would be wise to remove Flamini with the form he is at the moment. Wenger has also confirmed that Gilberto Silva will cover in the absence of Gallas and Senderos after returning from international duty with Brazil.

“The centre half position? Gilberto is available I hope because he has played in that position recently. Then we will see. After that I have Alex Song who has played in this position and Justin Hoyte too.”

I will be praying that Gilberto is available too because the prospect of Alex Song or Hoyte playing at centre back does not fill me with much confidence. In fact, I’d go as far to say as it fills me with no confidence.

Almunia should be Arsenal’s first choice on current formAlmunia still not number one?

I feel the injury to Lehmann is a positive for the side, as it gives Manuel Almunia another opportunity to display his credentials. Lehmann has acted like an absolute twit over the past week with his comments about Almuni and, much as I have liked him in the past, it would be great to see Almunia make him eat his words. Interestingly, Wenger is still unsure over who his number one keeper would be when they are both fit.

“At the moment I don’t know. I knew on Wednesday Jens couldn’t play, so, for me it’s continuity at the moment.”

For me, at the moment, it’s pretty obvious. Lehmann has shown that he is not in form both on and off the field whilst Almunia has not put a foot wrong. When you consider that the only goal the Spaniard has conceded was a fluke by Nwanko Kanu, I find Wenger’s comments a little disappointing. While the thought of Song or Hoyte playing at centre back quite frankly scares me, the thought of Almunia starting in goals gives me with a very nice sense of calm and as a result, he’s my current number one. Ahh.

Adebayor usually plays well against TottenhamAttack to get Arsenal over the line

In contrast to the defensive dilemmas the side currently faces, the midfield and attack are virtually at full strength. The midfield should remain largely unchanged from the previous match, with Abou Diaby, Denilson or Flamini slotting in as Gilberto shuffles to the defence. Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky and Alexander Hleb are certain starters in the form they’re in and I expect Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor to continue up front despite Eduardo da Silva’s impressive performances for Croatia midweek.

I have to say that I’m very optimistic about our chances against Tottenham. There’s really no reason not to be. The boys are in really good form at the moment, something that cannot be said of their opponents. And although this is a derby and an away match, which throws predictions up in the air a little bit, I’m expecting nothing short of another three points to keep the fantastic start to the season rolling on. Adebayor often does well against Tottenham and I think he’ll grab another goal in a satisfying 2-1 win.

What do you think?

Have your say on Arsenal’s game against Tottenham by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. Although I don’t think it will happen, I would love Adebayor and Eduardo to start against Tottenham. Van Persie seems to have gone a bit flat and I think these two would work well together. Nice post.

  2. Fitz – It’s an interesting thought. From what I’ve seen Adebayor and Eduardo are the best front ‘pairing’ we have, but it would take a brave man to drop van Persie. However I do agree that van Persie needs to lift his game a little over the coming weeks. Ever since that penalty miss against Manchester City he has been relatively quiet.

  3. I see Arsenal winning by 3 goals to 1. I fancy Diarra starting in the Midfield or coming in as a substitute for Flamini in the midfield and Eduardo coming in for Van Persie but i would have preferred Eduardo and Diarra to start in respective positions.

    LET’S GET READY TO HAMMER THE SPUDS 3-1 OR 4-0

  4. I would rather see Bendtner and Van Persie start, they will complement each others skills better than Adabayour and RvP. with Dudu on the bench. I wonder if Diarra will get a start, doubt it, but I dont think Diaby/Denilson are the right choice to cover for Gilberto.

    Would really like to see Walcott get a start too

  5. I like the idea of Bendtner playing, I was very much for it at the start of the season, but Wenger doesn’t seem too keen. However, I’m a big fan of Adebayor and he should start tomorrow. I also don’t think Diaby or Denilson are great cover for Giberto at this stage in their careers, and it would not surprise me to see Diarra start. We shall see.

  6. MY LINEUP AND SCORE PREDICTION AGAINST TOTTENHAM……!
    Almunia
    Sagna-Toure-Gilberto-Clichy
    Hleb-Fabregas-Diarra-Rosicky
    Van Persie-Adebayor
    Sub:Fabianski,Diaby,Walcott,Flamini,Eduardo and Denilson.
    Arsenal 4 – Tottenham 2

  7. I don’t think Diarra will even make the bench. I would love to see Walcott start and Bendnter make an appearance. Arsenal 4, Spuds 2

  8. Flamini deserve his place in first for tomorrow game:

    Almunia
    Sagna-Toure-Gilberto-Clichy
    Flamini
    Hleb-Fabregas–Rosicky
    Van Persie-Adebayor

    Sub:Fabianski,Diaby,Walcott,Diarra,Eduardo and Denilson/Hoyte.

    First half : Sp*rs 1 (Keane) : Arsenal 0
    Second half : Sp*rs 1 : Arsenal 2 (Ade, Hleb)

    Hleb score at the very last minute again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Jol sacked after this game. Berbatov may leave to join ManUSA in Jan.

  9. This is what I’d like to see for Spurs:

    Almunia
    Flamini-Gilberto-Toure-Clichy
    Hleb-Diarra-Cesc-Rosicky
    Adebayor-Van Persie

    My guess is this’ll be what happens anyway. Spurs are far too weak in midfield to pose that group any problems, especially with the form they’re in. There’s far too much pace, energy, and skill to be bothered by Huddlestone, Jenas, Malbranque, and whoever else Spurs have in there.

    I can’t foresee any goalkeeping mistakes or flukey goals. They have to go away at some point. I predict Arsenal 2-0 Spurs. I realize I seem extremely confident, but I can’t foresee any circumstances under which the current team will drop silly points, especially with the added motivation of it being Spurs.

  10. Lennon is starting, it will be a hard game and at HT 1-0 nil spurs – Berbatov but we will win either 3-1 or 4-2 final result

  11. i agree with andrew’s line up. van persie looks a bit out of form and i would favor the eduardo adebayor pairing but i can’t imagine van persie not starting. so i think we should maybe try out bendtner van persie pairing. i also like the idea of diarra playing midfield esp if we have a midfielder in gilberto playing defense. go arsenal!

  12. I also like your line-up Andrew. It doesn’t sound like Diarra will be starting though, we’ll have to wait and see what Wenger does.

    For whatever reason I am sharing your confidence. I originally tipped a 2-0 result but then I thought it was a bit one-sided. The more I think about it the more I think it will be 2-0 as well. I’m starting to get very excited…

  13. The Derbies between Spuds and Arsenal always get me excited that is why i loved thrasing them out of the carling cup last season. We will win 3-1 or 4-2. RVP will start but around the hour mark Eduardo will come on and Diarra won’t start.
    Almunia
    Sagna – toure – Eboue
    Flamini
    Fabregas – Rosicky
    Hleb
    Adebayor – RVP

  14. I’m surpised with all the 4-2 predictions. I thought our defence is playing quite well and I can’t see us conceding twice against Tottenham. Any thoughts on that?

  15. They will be playing for their manager. this could very well be his last chance to take some pressure off. I dont think this game if lost he will be fired, but i think if they lose the board will agree its time for a change. So most likely we will get their best, i could deff see us letting in 2 goals. Altho if we let in 2 we will score 4 or 5, the way their defence is, they panic every time the balls in the box so i think we can put away a few goals just off their mistakes.

  16. Also, i think Eduardo should start, dont think he will, but he should. He is good at getting those loose balls in the box and turning them into goals. Tottenhams defence is horrible and there will be alot of loose balls since they panic and mis-kick or head it to the feet of the opposition. He is usually in the right place for those kinda balls it seems

  17. Hey, I don’t have the internet at the moment but I just thought I’d say nice looking SF with the new changes. Also, what is the point of Diarra in our team?

  18. I like India-Gunner’s line up – Flamini, Hleb, Fabregas and Rosicky midfield. You could play Flamini and Hleb with either one in the middle, and the other on the wing.

    I’d think I’d go for a traditional RvP, Adebayor up front. Centre of defense is a bit of a worry. Should be an exciting game!

  19. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………….

    Jol going get sack after this.

    We are on top now !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  20. ADEBAAAAAAAAYOOOOOR!!!!!! GOAL OF THE SEASON PEOPLE. Adebayor has always been my favorite and he just made my day. He proved his critics wrong today but i really hope he’ll show some consistency especially during Sevilla’s game. Fabregas’s goal was another superb one.

    Our defence though was absolutely shaky and something should be done about that. SF, i love the new look 😉 😉

  21. Horrable defend from Gilberto. What a good save from Almunia. Luckly Ade turned up at the end!! What a relief !!!!!!!!!!

  22. CONGRATS ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!
    An excellent game,and most of our players did very well.
    Well done Arsenal today’s performance have highlighted the hunger and desire of this young Arsenal team.
    Today we actually looked like a team that can win something,
    Adebayor goal was like that Thierry Henry goal back in 1999 against Man United.
    Everyone keeps on criticising him,just give him time he has talent.
    I wonder what excuse the spuds will have about losing today?All their stars were playing,so what will their excuse be I wonder?
    I dont quite believe it but yes,we are top of the league.

  23. gunners rule! i think the whole team tried though! i am very happy and if we continue like this then we’ll definateli get the four trophies!lol! seriusli! almunia was outstanding! but my man of the match would the rosicky, he kept on making those tackles and his control of the ball was absolutely oustanding. i dont see anyway sevilla or derby can do nething against us at the emirates stadium cuz the form we are on now is outstanding!!!! Go Gunners!!!

  24. Also, check out the prediction made by Jay:

    “it will be a hard game and at HT 1-0 nil spurs – but we will win either 3-1 or 4-2 final result.”

    That’s a little eerie, don’t you think?

  25. Eu tenho uma prima que o nome SAGNA
    hsaushuahsaus…

    entao mande um presente pra ela q ela ama esse loko ai
    [:)]

  26. CRISTIANO RONALDO E MELHOR Q TODO O TIME DO ARSENAL
    shaushaushauhsaush

    NINGUEM SEGURA O CRIS….

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