It was pretty inevitable Real would dominate possession due to the squad of players they have but I think that game showed the maturity of Winks. Winks has been someone we've come to rely on to keep possession in games we dominate but against Real he showed that he's smart enough to adapt his game to suit the team's needs and in this case he was a lot quicker at releasing the ball in the hope for counter attacks. Being the away side in this NLD, we may see Winks needing to adopt a similar role again as Arsenal will likely look to try and dominate possession on their own turf. It would've been great to have Big Vic as an option but whoever's stepped into CM this season has generally done well, whether that be Dier, Sissoko, Winks or Alli, it's why I'm pretty calm and content with the idea of a Winks-Alli partnership in this one. May not be powerhouses but the way Poch has coached our players, we tend to out-do any other side when it comes to determination and grit and so those two can give any of Arsenal's CMs a problem when on their A-game.
Four hours until kick-off and the stomach is starting to turn. Production meetings over, sitting in my office trying to do some work but the head keeps returning to who will Poch pick, how will we play and how much luck will the goons have? My old granddad always referred to them as 'Lucky Old Arsenal'. Somewhere in the back of my head I can see and hear him saying that now, yet he has been dead for 24 years. The referee, Mike Dean; 'oh no' some of the time, 'oh yes' others, lets hope he got out of the Tottenham side of the bed this morning. I don't miss much about good old Blighty, my daughter, my home, a selection of cheeses, a pint or eight of Guinness and perhaps my cars are about all I can normally think of, but today of all days, how I envy you guys going to the match this afternoon. The finest drug in the world bar none, and I've tried most, is witnessing Spurs beating Arsenal live. It is impossible to feel pain for at least 24 hours after a Spurs victory in this fixture. It cures arthritis, rheumatism, headache, toothache, clap, pox and itch and any other malady one could think of. It's like floating on a magic carpet, as if someone has turned off gravity and one has been gifted with the ability to fly. Conversely, a defeat in this fixture turns the whole world evil, women look wicked, the beer tastes off, the cat mocks you and the birds in the trees stop singing. The wife questions your mood as if nothing had happened and then tries to console you by telling you 'it's not the end of the world', when clearly it is. One's boots become full of lead, every step is a monumental effort and even if the sun comes out, it is shining for others, not for me. So come on Tottenham, put all of us long suffering fans out of our misery, let us ride that magic carpet early today. Put the game to bed before half time and spend the second half making water bottles suffer and putting nails into Wenger's coffin. I'm a simple man, I don't ask for much, a four goal margin in our favour will suffice. More would be better. COYS, make my weekend.
Big game needed from Dembele - but imagine he won’t last 90 mins, so trust that Winks and Sissoko are both fully fit.
No Winks and no Sonny in the starting line up, Shame. Goons playing, Lazygazette, Sanchez and Ozil so no bus parking but potential passengers there.
Come on Spurs! After a **** week at work, I really can’t deal with a defeat today!! As far as NLD’s go, I’m feeling positive going into this!! (sorry RCL.)
Nervous today. because we might not do ourselves justice today against them...that always bothers me. COYS
Could be worse, over on Twitter there's someone mouthing off that Lamela's playing in a PL2 game instead of on the bench for this...
Yes. We need to improve results against top six sides, and we need to do it in a match where we can expect our opponents will be desperate to stop us. COYS!
