New-look Tottenham look to add to Arsenal's growing frustration
Tottenham and Arsenal clash in the first north London derby of the season on Wednesday evening as the third round of the Capital One League Cup gets under way. The marquee matchup of this slate of games, Arsenal will be looking to bounce back after a two-game skid that saw them flop in Europe, and then get manhandled at Stamford Bridge.
Both teams are likely to rotate their squads for this match, which comes on the heels of a busy stretch of league and European games. Spurs will be without four players including Nabil Bentaleb, Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason but are on a high after fending off a tricky Crystal Palace side on the weekend thanks to new boy Son Heung-min. Son has scored three times in two games for Spurs to give Tottenham a cutting edge they were lacking; wunderkind Harry Kane has yet to get off the mark.
While Spurs are in a transitional period -- they have yet to fully gel under manager Mauricio Pochettino and seem to have acknowledged reduced expectations ahead of a massive stadium redevelopment project -- they looked very solid against Palace. Erik Lamela and 19-year-old Dele Ali had strong games and Spurs look like a young side that is growing into the rigors of the Premier League. While they lack the true A-list class of a Gareth Bale, Spurs look a sight better than the grinding and dull side of last year. Energetic and competent, the question is not if they have the legs to run with the very best, but whether or not their lack of experience will lay them low. Their starting 11 is the youngest of any in the English top flight.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are in a swoon. They expected to have more than ten points after six games, and they certainly did not expect the reversal they suffered in Croatia last week. The Gunners did improve in a critical position with the addition of Petr Cech in the offseason in goal, but their lack of a true top-class striker has proved very costly. Alexis Sanchez, who carried the team last season, looks exhausted; Olivier Giroud is his own worst enemy.
Discipline has been a major problem as well. Giroud was sent off for sheer stupidity against Dinamo Zagreb, collecting two cards in the first half; Arsenal then saw Gabriel Paulista and Santi Cazorla get the hook in a stormy encounter at Stamford Bridge. While Gabriel's card was somewhat controversial, Cazorla's sending off, for two yellows, was daft.
That said, the Gunners will be able to call on a full-strength backline after Gabriel's red card and three-match man was overturned on Tuesday by the FA. Gabriel, red carded after an altercation with Chelsea's Diego Costa, was judged to have been incorrectly sent off by referee Mike Dean, an extremely rare decision that is also likely to result in that referee being removed from the Premier League list. Costa is now facing a three-match ban himself while both clubs have been warned over their failure to control players. Per Mertesacker is also fit to return after an illness.
The same is not true for Arsenal's midfield, which suddenly looks very thin. Cazorla is of course suspended, Francis Coquelin joins a lengthy injury list that includes Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck. Mikel Arteta is certain to start; the only question is whether or not Theo Walcott will get the nod over Giroud once again.
Typically, the League Cup is a place for Arsenal's youngsters to get a game or two -- it is, after all, the least of the competitions for the Premier League teams. But given Arsenal's recent slide and the fact that Spurs are on a three-match winning streak, expect Arsene Wenger to select a stronger side than he normally would for this fixture. Another loss here would raise the temperature considerably at the Emirates ahead of some very critical fixtures, and while secretly, Wenger would probably relish giving his players a break, the fact is, this is an effective must-win game for both clubs.
