NORTH LONDON JEOPARDY
Well, my friends, today, I guess we dine in hell?
The biggest North London Derby of the past two decades is here, and the consequences of failing could not be more jeopardacious for both teams.
Unai Emery stole a point against Chelsea with an absolutely dire performance that could sit on the mantelpiece in his hall of shame. Chelsea were somehow denied a goal by VAR at the death. Regardless, a 2-2 draw works really well for Spurs hunt for top 4.
It means they can lose against Arsenal, but could still be in with a chance of toppling a Villa that is the only English team contending a European competition.
Why does that matter? It means that Spurs are likely going to have to do something against Manchester City if they want to make the Champions League.
Big Ange can talk about preparedness for that competition all he likes, but when push comes to shove, managers at Premier League clubs always think about self-preservation. If Spurs have an xG crash landing next season, they’re not top 4, they’re 11th. They’re the second most overperforming team in the league behind… Aston Villa.
Champions League likely gives the Top-Aussie-Geezer a chunky personal cash bonus, it gives him the right to bang Daniel Levy’s oak table and demand big reinforcements, and it cements his legend with fans which might save him if he has a wonky 2024-25.
This Emery boost they’ve been given works for them in every game after Arsenal, but we also have to remember it works very nicely for them tomorrow. If Spurs win their next three games, they’ll be fourth with less need to do something against City.
Arsenal has a different objective – force the league into the last game of the season. Any slip, and it is over. Lose, it’s finished. Draw, and we’re probably living in that world as well. This has to be an Arsenal win if we want to have a hope.
As I mentioned yesterday, the big decision will be who plays fullback. Tomiyasu is the man we all want to see on the left, but there’s no way there hasn’t been a consequence to that horrific challenge he faced at Chelsea. If it’s not him, then I’m going to Zinchenko. His ability to overload their midfield and cause chaos could be really valuable in a huge game. I can’t watch Kiwior have his insides turned out by Brennan.
There isn’t an unknown regarding the Arsenal that’ll show up. It’ll be a force of energy that’ll try to pick Spurs apart with aggressive attacking football. There is a big question over what Big Ange can get from a side that was savaged by Newcastle just before Spurs were given a little Premier League vacation by their friends in the fixture office. Going on holiday on a spanking isn’t usually good for morale. Stepping out of the season when things are heating up might cause a sputtery start. This is a tough one to gauge. The only thing we can know for certain? The longer we don’t score, the harder it’ll be on our legs in the second half when Spurs’ rest time will pay dividends. Most of our failings this season have come when a deserved early goal hasn’t dropped.
There were a lot of people calling Liverpool bottle jobs yesterday; whilst I find that sort of carry-on amusing, it is, categorically, complete and utter bollocks. Since when did we start packaging anything bar total victory as ‘bottling’? It’s childish commentary pushed by people who have generally won nothing in their lives.
Arsenal are well beyond the stage where you can call this season anything outside magnificent. If you’re sitting on the sidelines with draft tweets like ‘see, I told you in 2018 Arteta was a wrong’un,’ you are saying more about yourself than you are about this Arsenal team.
At the very highest level of sport, where Arsenal currently sit, all you can ask for is that your team is competitive and in the mixer for crunch time. There are only 22 days left of the season. We are top of the league as of writing. This is what we have wanted for 15 years… and now it’s here.
Savour the moment, don’t squander it. Seven years ago, we were trying to pump ourselves up about Lacazette, Kolasinac, and Carl Jenkinson finally coming good.
‘Maybe Wenger will win the Europa and send us back to the Champions League?’
‘Maybe Arsenal will choose a really good manager!’
‘This Raul guy, who has been part of some of the shadiest deals in football history, has our best interests at heart, maybe we’ll be okay.’
‘At least Ivan’s here, he can show what he’s about!’
Those were some dark days. It’s tempting to forget about them because now we’re dining at the top table, trying to call shots with a team that is on a wage bill that is half of City. But we shouldn’t forget the banter years, and we should never pretend that we’re where we are now because our fine name demands it. Arsenal is back to their best because we did things the hard way, built the club sustainably, and invested in an idea that took a long time. It could all disappear tomorrow, so enjoy what we have now… the journey is the fun part.
Okay, that’s me done. On The Whistle will be a paid post, but you can watch it if you signed up to Substack. Link going out later! x