This weekend’s London derby, while not the definitive game the UK media is hyping, is a crucial encounter that could swing either way, adding to its allure and unpredictability.
Regardless of the outcome, both Spurs and Arsenal have shown resilience this season. A loss or draw won’t diminish their progress, although it might dampen Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes and Tottenham’s Champions League aspirations.’s Champions Lt
For Arsenal, this year has been peculiar, to say the least.
In October, we struggled to score the goals we had scored the previous year, but we looked better defensively. We were running out of steam in December, and the winter break came at a very good time.
We found in January the combination of attack and defence that we had been looking for over the past 36 months, and a run of games against lesser opposition allowed us to hone that attacking prowess.
So, as we head into the last four games of the season with everything in balance, how do you feel about the season Arsenal has had?
For me, I think it has been a good season. Better than last year with a team that looks like it will challenge for years to come. A team that everyone will want to avoid in the Champions League, a team that will not lose the games that it has lost this year, and a team that has found a way of not letting the other team shoot at its goal.
The XG statistics for the year are remarkable, with Arsenal’s XG from shots at goal by opponents being 0.09 shots per game. The team’s general performance has improved remarkably this year, and I don’t think I have seen a better Arsenal team in the past twenty years.
The much-praised invincible team of 2004 was obviously special, with some very special players, but this summer, Arsenal will add 1 or 2 “special players” to the mix and replenish that bench with some better quality squad players, which will take them to the 2004 levels.
I honestly believe that Arsenal will come close to going undefeated next year, and if they don’t win the title this year, they will win it next year. I have been an Arsenal fan for 52 years since 1972 and have watched nearly every home game and many away games during that period. I am stating that this team is indeed on the verge of being very good.
So after the 5-0 victory tomorrow at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (they really should have sold some naming rights by now, shouldn’t they ?) Sit back and remind yourself that the best times for this team are yet to come. How good is that?
I also believe that if we win tomorrow, then we will win the league title and dethrone Manchester City. That will be an amazing achievement that should be celebrated by all the other teams in the league. The financially doped juggernaut that is Man City will slowly kill the opposition over the next few years as their financial might grows and grows. For the rest of us, Arsenal should be the striding white stallion of goodness that the Premier League needs to keep things fresh and exciting. COYG