Arsenal will take on their city rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates this Sunday in the big North London derby which will be the stand out fixture of the weekend. Needless to say that it would be a very important game for both the sides with the Gunners being level on points with the league leaders Manchester City and Tottenham just 3 points adrift of their rivals at the moment.
A win for the home side would take them 6 points clear off their city rivals and that is exactly what Arsene Wenger would be looking for on Sunday. Let’s analyse why the home team has a better chance of winning the fixture and keep up the pressure at the top of the table.
Stable Defensive Partnership
One of the biggest weaknesses for Arsenal in the last 10 years were their fragile defence which never could form a decent partnership between two reputed centre backs. The last time it happened was when Thomas Vermaelen partnered William Gallas at the back in 2008. That particular partnership also had a lot of issues but after the signing of Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia in the summer, it appears that Laurent Koscielny is finally able to play alongside a partner who can cover for his mistakes and understands his game well.
The stability in the heart of the defence with the presence of a world class keeper in behind really does invoke a lot of confidence within the squad as well and in a match of such great importance, it is something which will give the Gunners the edge with their rivals having to make a change in their defensive pairing due to the injury to Alderweireld.
Reinforced Midfield
Arsenal do have arguably the most balanced midfield in the Premier League and the reports of Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott returning will be a big boost for the manager. Also, Aaron Ramsey has now returned to full fitness since his injury layoff as he completed 70 minutes against Ludogorets in the Champions League.
The Welshman is almost likely to make his first start in the Premier League on Sunday which will be a key factor for the hosts as the visitors are likely to miss out on one of their key players in Mousa Dembele through an injury.
Home Comforts
Emirates has never been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham just like Highbury and the Lilywhites have won just once in their last 10 visits there. The visitor’s last win at the Emirates dates back to November 2010, when Gareth Bale, Rafael van Der Vaart and Younes Kaboul got their names on the score sheet to script a memorable 3-2 victory.
With the team being in fine form, players returning back from Injury and having quality options which can be utilized to change things if needed from the bench, Arsenal definitely would be feeling a lot more confident ahead of the tie than their neighbours.
