North London Derby #174

The weekend has started, and there's only one thing on the minds of Spurs fans everywhere.

Sunday. Us vs Them in a North London Derby of epic proportions. Neither team can afford to lose. Ar*enal can't really afford to draw. This is about bragging rights. This is about Champions League football for next season. And maybe most importantly, this is about proving that we won't fucking bottle it again.

There's no doubt that the gap between the clubs has been closed in recent years. And now, as Gareth Bale suggested recently, we may have actually "overtaken them on the pitch." Bale pointed out that our squad is stronger that Ars*nal's, and I don't think anyone bar the most stubborn of gooners would disagree with that. And that is why it's so important for us to win on Sunday. None of us like mentioning it, but Spurs haven't finished ahead of Ars*nal in nearly 20 years, and we've blown the few chances we've had. But I'm confident in saying that if we win on Sunday, we will go on to finish ahead of them this season.

If we lose, I will be very VERY worried. We'll still be ahead of them in the table, but past experience tells us that heads will drop. Now I firmly believe AVB has instilled a great sense of confidence in the lads, and we're not the same soft touch we once were, but that doesn't mean a loss won't devastate the dressing room.  Of course it will, and with two tough games against Liverpool and Inter coming up, we need to maintain this new found 'big club' mentality of ours. Losing to Woolwich would dent that massively.

Pundits often say form means little or nothing when it comes to derby day. I think there's some truth in that, but teams are on good or bad form for a reason. A lot of our recent wins can be put down to individual brilliance, mainly from Bale and Dembele, but players like Holtby and Lloris have also been on top form. All of those on-form players will be playing on Sunday, and there is no reason for them not to perform well again. No matter what Wenger's been telling the press this week, I think Ars*nal are dreading playing Bale. They're either going to double mark him or their going to get steamrolled down the left side. And if they double up on him, it's going to grant us more space around the pitch.

As I've said before, we can't keep relying on Bale for goals. Unless Gareth has another miracle match (and I'm not ruling out the possibility), we're going to need a striker to step up. Although I've almost completely lost faith in Adebayor, this could be the very match he puts in a big performance. It's his old club, and he's that kind of guy. I will be very disappointed if AVB doesn't pick a genuine striker up front on Sunday, because with such high stakes, real chances are likely to be few and far between, and an out-and-out goalscorer is far more likely to poach something from nothing.

Ars*nal have been shit recently. But their form heading into Sunday reads pretty well. They're unbeaten in their last five Premier League matches, winning four times. By way of comparison, we're unbeaten in our last 11 and, we've won 7 of those. No doubt our form is better, but the point is that Arsenal have edged out scrappy games. I don't think Sunday will be scrappy, but due to the stakes, it will be tight. And Ar*enal do tight better than Spurs. That said, I still think we'll win. We've got their number, they're scared, and we're hungry. It will be tight though. It will still be edge of the seat stuff for the fans, but for the neutral I suspect it will be underwhelming.

I hope I'm wrong and we show our superior quality by hammering them 18-0.

It's Friday night and I'm a little merry right now, but never fear, we'll post a big match build-up at some point tomorrow night or Sunday morning, depending how long I can sit still thinking about Sunday!

COYS!

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