Tottenham’s season has been marked by some irregularity. Spurs therefore need a little peace of mind before the north London derby this Wednesday evening at Arsenal.
THE Spurs occupy 12th place in the Premier League halfway and the teamAnge Postecoglou is decimated by injuries.
They have just one win in eight league matches, but they strung together two wins before heading to the Emirates Stadium – one against Liverpool in EFL Cup and a triumph in FA Cup against the club Tamworth after extension.
These results illustrate the wacky nature of the season TottenhamwhileArsenal risks seeing his own completely collapse after a difficult week.
THE Gunners were beaten 2-0 at home by Newcastle in the semi-final first legEFL Cup before being eliminated from the FA Cup on penalties by Manchester Unitedreduced to 10 for almost an hour.
The team of Mikel Arteta is still second in the Premier League and will be favorite before the arrival of Spursalthough there is reason to be optimistic that the visitors will be able to dent the hosts’ title ambitions.
Kinsky’s immediate impact
One of the main absences to which Tottenham faced due to the injury crisis was that of the goalkeeper William Vicar.
The Italy international is working on his return to fitness after fracturing his ankle in November, which allowed his replacement, Fraser Forsterto take over.
His performances have been inconsistent, but even he had to forfeit a match due to illness, forcing the Spurs to call on Brandon Austinthe third choice.
THE Spurs reacted by recruiting the Czech star Antonin Kinskywho came on as a substitute just days after taking part in the 1-0 victory of Spurs on Liverpool in the semi-finals of theEFL Cup.
The 21-year-old put in a good performance, showing superb ballplay and set-piece presence, which he also demonstrated during his trouble-free match at Tamworth. It’s still too early to tell, but Kinsky has already established itself as the main option for Spurs in the goals.
His way of playing seems to have given men Postecoglou a little more serenity in defense, in particular with their improvised defensive line. This will be necessary in a hostile atmosphere at Arsenal, where mistakes could creep into the game.
Solanke in great shape
On the side of Tottenham, Dominic Solanke has established himself as a major asset on the attacking front. Solanke joined the Spurs this summer for a sum of £65 million from Bournemouthafter a 21-goal campaign with the Cherries.
THE Spurs needed someone to fill the void left by Harry Kane and, although Solanke is not of this caliber, he has made his own breakthrough.
The 27-year-old has scored 11 goals and provided six assists in all competitions this season, but has often been involved in matches when he was not on the scoresheet.
The success of Solanke is largely due to his tireless pressing which perfectly suits the style of Postecogloubut he is also a player to target if the Spurs want to simplify.
This is what he demonstrated during the 2-1 defeat against Newcastle by heading a center of Pedro Porro and against Liverpool by taking a long ball from the Spaniard and serving Lucas Bergvall for the winning goal.
THE Spurs might therefore want to use this type of game against Arsenalwhich has two of the most imposing central defenders with William Saliba et Gabriel.
Arsenal’s concerns
If the problems of Tottenham are well known, Arsenal isn’t in a very stable situation either, with injuries starting to take their toll.
Riccardo Calafiori joined the defenders Ben White et Takehiro Tomiyasu on the sidelines, but it is in attack that the problems accumulate.
Bukayo Sakaabsent for almost a month, is the biggest blow. His lining Ethan Nwaneri is also broken and Gabriel Jesusinjured in the knee, risks being absent until the end of the season.
In addition, the attackers currently available Arteta failed to seize their chance, a problem that has been undermined in the team’s last two outings.
During the defeat against Newcastle in EFL Cup, Arsenal had an expected goals (xG) rate above 3.0 and did not score, while Kai Havertz wasted golden opportunities against Manchester United Sunday.
Tottenham has had a difficult time at Emirates sinceArsenal moved there in 2006, winning only one victory 14 years ago, but he could spring a surprise.
Postecoglou will not care about what happens on the other side of the fence, but recent developments show thatArsenal is fully capable of fighting if the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
