Here's a 5-2 to get you in the mood But which one is it .... ? [video=youtube;XuSfvcCpCHo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuSfvcCpCHo[/video]
It's not rocket science - you got one point more than us last season so the squads were probably about even. This year we've got Sandro and Kaboul back, who hardly played last year and signed Paulinho and Soldado who are massive improvements too, and Capoue and Chadli are pretty good too. So with your lack of signings we ought to be ahead of you even allowing for Bale going. But I'm making no predictions for the NLD - anything can happen in that as has been proved recently.
So you making a few signings that haven't proven themselves yet and who personally i wouldn't take all of them at Arsenal as i dont think they would be improvements, makes you clearly better than us? You'll have to wait and see how badly your effected by Bale leaving and how many of your signings (high risk given the prices paid btw) will manage to settle into the team and league. Even if you guys are feeling confident you now have a stronger squad it is most definately false confidence if you think your now head and shoulders above us. Arsenal have a great core to the squad and there are still a few days left to add to it
Of course the pressure's not on us, we're away and if we lost we'd still be on the same points as you. The pressure will be on us for the season as a whole because we need to finish top 4 but for this game so early on it's only really the short term stuff that's worth looking at. In the United-Chelsea game neither really needed to win and it showed, in terms of this game Arsenal do need to at very least put in a good performance because there's so much scrutiny on your team from your fans and the media. Whatever the result it will be far more important for Arsenal, lose it and I think Wenger loses the supporters, win it and he wins even the doubters over, draw it and... well I guess that will come down to your transfer business. If we win, lose or draw AVB will have the vast majority of the fans backing him and our team. Be careful though, you spelt "Spuds" wrong once there, don't want to be accused of not being bitter now, do you
I've been impressed with Arsenal. They're zipping the ball around quickly and playing with a degree of confidence. They still seem leaky at the back which is an area Spurs should be able to exploit. As a neutral I see the game going one of two ways: - Arsenal zipping the ball around quickly and targeting Spurs weakness in the full back area. Gibbs/Monreal and Walcott/Sagna overlapping and getting service into Giroud. - Spurs' powerhouse midfield breaking up the play and Paulinho/Dembele making surging runs through the middle targeting Arsenal's soft underbelly. It will probably be somewhere between the two. But these are traditionally two good attacking teams that can't seem to defend so it'll make for another great game I think. Looking far more forward to this than I am to Northern ****fest that is Liverpool v United. Sky's flagship fixture to rub in everyone's faces.
I bet the NLD will go down as one of the games of the season. Both teams are attacking and aren't scared to go forward, not like that snoozefest between Manure and Chelsea. Trust Mourinho to come back and pull off a drab draw with all the exciting players he has in his squad!
Arsenal are definitely favourites for this match. If it was at WHL then we would be. Generally you win at your place and we win at ours in recent years. You have a settled team and if you avoid injuries then you may edge it. As has been mentioned it will be an interesting contrast in styles in midfield. I would say I'm looking forward to it but I never do really, it's not good for the nerves!
I can see where YV's coming from. Having lost at home already there is massive pressure on Arsenal going into the game. It's only August and Arsenal will get better as the season progresses but I'm afraid I have to disagree there isn't pressure on Spurs. Spurs have spent big money and there will be some people even expecting a title challenge. It's huge for Spurs in terms of belief just as the game at Old Trafford was last year. Spurs have struggled against the big teams for as long as I can remember but this is a real opportunity for them to show their credentials to the rest of the league. It's a derby, big pressure for both sides. Maybe not a must win, but a must not lose game for sure.
I think it has more implications for Spurs than Arsenal. If Spurs lose, it will be a major blow to their confidence, given that they think they have done so well in the transfer race. If Arsenal lose and then sign a couple before the window closes, they can still get it together. Even if they don't sign, when Arteta and Vermaelen, and Podolski get back, we can still be optimistic.
If we lose, people will think "well, that was expected, considering the lack of signings" If Spurs lose, people will think "well, that's surprising, considering how much money they spent" Being useless in the window has actually worked in our favour (sort of) for once.
I am not sure losing at Arsenal with a team that is in transition will dent their confidence that much, given the choice of going into this match with a settled team who (the Villa game apart) have been extremely consistent over a period of time or having 5 new signings who are still getting to know each others game, the settled team win hands down, should be a good game but I think you will win by the odd goal
All the pressure is on Arsenal - every home game has the potential to be toxic for AW. This, for me, is an exact repeat of the Villa game, if things go against us the crowd will turn on AW and the board, the players will feel the atmosphere and I'm afraid there's plenty of quality in that Tottenham squad these days and they could pick us off. Every home game will be an opportunity for fans to vent their anger, we could win a dozen on the spin but the next defeat and the crowd will turn, I'm actually thinking that AW has lost a chunk of the fans for good and they're not for turning. As a betting man I'd be paying us at home and backing us away when, as others have said, the support is unquestioned and the pressure is off
