Arsenal will brace themselves for this year’s first north London derby as they take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. It is a must-win game for the Gunners if they are to stay in the race to finish in the top five, especially with their bitter rivals also breathing down the neck. So in this article, we will discuss three things Mikel Arteta must do to ensure a win against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
A narrow defensive system
Under Jose Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur’s game has taken a different path, one that is more centred towards creating chances from a more direct style of play rather than a wide-oriented approach previously practised by Jose Mourinho. As a result, the fullbacks have been a lot of less influential.
Arsenal can take full advantage of this situation and minimise Spurs’ attacking influence by deploying a narrow and compact shape. Especially in midfield, the likes of Granit Xhaka and David Luiz should be allowed more uniformity in regards to their positioning.
Therefore, it would perhaps be a good idea for Arteta to employ a narrow defensive system against a Tottenham Hotspur that have struggled to provide the flair in their creative game so far.
More weightage on the left flank
Serge Aurier’s expertise in going forward and providing offensive support is a vital part of Mourinho’s system at Tottenham. At the same time, however, it is also a glaring weakness as the Ivorian lacks the positional sense as well as discipline to provide any sort of solidity in that right-back slot.
Arsenal could make use of that by giving more weight into the left flank. The existing system of Kieran Tierney operating as a wing-back and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang playing further forward is actually a fantastic scheme, especially with Sead Kolasinac getting the license to move forward whenever necessary.
A pendulating backline
Tottenham’s offensive trifecta of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min haven’t enjoyed a positive spell under Mourinho. But, that is no excuse for Arsenal to appear sloppy in defence. In fact, Arteta must find a way to solidify the backline further this weekend.
The likely option for the Spaniard is to employ a left-sided overload with right wing-back Hector Bellerin operating in a deeper role, providing defensive coverage to the three centre-backs. It could be a useful tactic, especially if we consider Son’s tendency to make runs in behind the backline.
