Nuno's negative Spurs toil in North London derby
Sunday afternoon sees one of the most low-key North London derbies take place in recent memory, with both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur having underwhelming starts to their respective campaigns, even in an environment where fans' expectations for their club are relatively modest. Mikel Arteta's men have however at least lifted themselves off the bottom of the Premier League with successive 1-0 victories against perhaps the division's other most low-scoring teams, whereas Nuno Espirito Santo, after leading the division (including a win over Manchester City), has seen his side slump to two 3-0 defeats against other capital sides. Read our preview here:
Ground control to Major Tomiyasu
Both squads have painfully obvious deep flaws in them, and one of Arsenal's longest running issues, regardless of the tactics employed by Arteta or even his immediate predecessor, has been at right-back. Héctor Bellerín, once seen as a certainty to return back to Barcelona (when they had two cents to rub together) on account of his stellar displays down the flank, has instead slumped into mediocrity to the extent that his temporary departure to Real Betis was welcomed by all concerned, or at least the vast majority. In his shoes has stepped rangy and versatile Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has two distinct advantages over the other options for his role: his height, which ought to finally halt the opposition targetting that zone of the pitch aerially, and his proactive ability to intercept the ball. It's little wonder his signature was chased by Spurs as well before opting to sign at the Emirates, and whilst his capture doesn't paper over other cracks, the early signs are promising that he can make the back four a solid unit.
Strain. Pain. Kane.
Arsenal have still looked mostly profligate in attack, however, which is a trait they share with their fierce rivals under Nuno. Whilst the defensive football under José Mourinho was tolerated by the fanbase during the early months of 2020/2021 when it was getting results on the back of a remarkable partnership between Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, it was always going to be difficult to sustain that level of output in spite of their elite status as individuals and in tandem. The latter has come in for heavy criticism already, which has shifted from ire at the soporific summer transfer saga to take him to City that never transpired to his tendency to come far too deep into midfield looking for the ball, mirroring the sort of transition Wayne Rooney made in his latter days at Manchester United. Vitriol would more likely to be spared if there were more obvious creative outlets in the ranks, but the midfield three on paper behind him and Son are not renowned for their vision - Dele Alli has always been more adept at attacking the space around the area, Oliver Skipp is very much a pivot, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg a box-to-box shuttler. Combine these factors together, and it's remarkable that more efforts weren't made by the board to recruit genuinely attack-minded individuals to take the weight off the two forwards' shoulders.
Nuno, no no
The permanent signing of Martin Ødegaard alongside the continuing development of Emile Smith Rowe arguably gives the hosts a distinct advantage when unlocking a defence, and the onus will be on them to do most of the attacking work. As clubs with fewer resources in London in the same division have rolled the dice and look exciting though, there's a danger that both northern outfits in the capital are going to be left behind. bet365 have odds of 3.40 for under 1.5 goals in the game.
