Premier League: How Far is Spurs Ahead of Arsenal?

Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal

The North London derby is the capital’s biggest and best. And this weekend, when Spurs and Arsenal meet in a vital Premier League clash, it promises to be an epic!

After decades of domination, the Gunners have been in the shadow of their neighbours in recent seasons. While Spurs has pushed for a first Premier League title, falling just short in 2016, Arsenal has been agonising over its fall from the heady heights of the early 2000s.

But there are signs that Arsenal is steadily finding its place among the league’s elite again, while Spurs has had a very recent attack of the jitters, with back-to-back defeats virtually ending their hopes of league glory this season. Unai Emery will target this as a big chance for the Gunners to assert their authority while Spurs will be looking for revenge after losing the return fixture 4-2.

Our weekend SBOBET Premier League reports will have this one right up there, as Arsenal aims to close the gap on its neighbour to just a single point.

Talking Points

Spurs’ bad week at the office

Two poor results don’t represent a crisis but it’s certainly been a deflating week to be a Spurs fan. It has been a horrible few days for Mauricio Pochettino’s boys, who turned up at Burnley last weekend, delighted by the news that Harry Kane was fit to play and aiming to close the gap on the leaders to just two points. But the Clarets beat Spurs 2-1 and that landed a savage blow to their title hopes.

Then Pochettino’s men travelled across London to face Chelsea, a club in some turmoil after the Carabao Cup final circus when its keeper, Kepa, defied the coach’s instructions and stayed on the field to lose the penalty shootout.

But amidst discussions around player mutiny and while all the attention was on the Chelsea defence, poor Kieran Trippier had a misunderstanding with Hugo Lloris and slid the ball past his own stopper to score an embarrassing own goal. I’d advise Kieran to steer clear of the Premier League 2019 highlights for a couple of weeks, and think back to his headline grabbing performances at Russia 2018 where he was excellent throughout!

While all the Spurs strikers drew a blank at Stamford Bridge Kane scored against Burnley. But Heung-Min Son, prolific in the skipper’s absence, will struggle to get the share of chances he has enjoyed for some weeks. And Kane cut a frustrated figure in defeat to Chelsea.

Dele Alli may make the bench after a six week lay off, but I think Spurs’ best chance of success on Saturday lies with the creative Christian Eriksen, who has already provided nine league assists this season.

Premier League: Will Mesut Ozil starts for Arsenal as they clash against Tottenham Hotspur? — Mesut Ozil made a return this week against Bournemouth

Gunners set their sights

Five wins in six have lifted Arsenal back into the top four of the Premier League and Unai Emery takes his team to Wembley just four points behind their North London rivals. He’ll settle for a top four position in his first season, but Emery knows how much this derby means to the fans and he’ll be plotting a way to win.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is just a single goal behind the league top scorers on 16, and one ahead of Harry Kane, and with strike partner Alexandre Lacazette on 12 the Gunners have serious firepower, certainly on a par with their opponents. Both were on target when the Gunners hosted Spurs back in December.

And Mesut Ozil made a return to the Arsenal starting line-up this week, for the first time in 2019, and he looked like his old self, scoring one and making another goal as the Gunners dismantled Bournemouth 5-1. He’s been on the outside of Emery’s inner circle but that kind of performance should mean another start against Spurs.

History

Of the 59 games played since 1993, the Gunners have won twice as many as the Whites with 24 to 12 and there have been 23 draws, though they have each won two of the last four

Arsenal comes into the game in fine form having won the last three games, scoring ten goals and conceding one. Before their back-to-back defeats the Spurs won four on the bounce, all at Wembley.

Christian Eriksen is the biggest assist provider in the game with three more than Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsay.

Spurs is yet to draw a game in the league this season, with a home record of nine wins and four defeats.

Betting Tip

	Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal	Arsenal Asian Handicap +0.50 @1.85
	March 2 20:30AM

The Spurs vs Arsenal betting odds have the hosts as slight favourites at 2.08 with the draw at 3.35 and Arsenal 3.45.

I just think the mood at Arsenal will be the better at the moment and that often counts for a lot in these games. Spurs will be deflated and the Gunners can close the gap further.

Spurs don’t do draws, but 1-1 is the most likely result at 6.60.