ESPN Match of the Week: Arsenal v Tottenham

By Taylor Fisher | 30th October 2009

ESPN Match of the Week: Arsenal v Tottenham | read this item

This Saturday on ESPN2 (for fans in the US), you will be able to witness a clash of Premier League titans. Arsenal and Tottenham will be taking each other on in the North London Derby. For anybody in the United States that would like to watch, the match kicks off at 8:45am EST at the Emirates.

Arsenal

Team News

Things were looking up for Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Wednesday. That was until he suffered a thigh injury in his first game back, and will now be out for three more weeks.

Fran Merida, the 19 year old who scored for Arsenal against Liverpool on Wednesday, is hoping to get a new contract. The negotiations couldn’t have come at a better time after his performance.

Arsenal have been performing very well lately even during the absence of some key first team players. Denilson and Theo Walcott still find themselves treating injuries, and they won’t be back for this match.

Arsenal Form

With a game in hand Arsenal still find themselves sitting pretty in 3rd place on the table. A win would keep them in third place, but a loss could see them drop several places on the table.

Home is where the wins are. Arsenal are currently 4-0-0 at the Emirates this season, so they will put perfection on the line on Saturday.

On top of their fantastic home record, the Gunners seem to be scoring on an empty net. They have found the back of the net 17 times in their four home matches while only allowing 4 goals.

Key Man: Cesc Fabregas. Robin van Persie has been pulling his weight for Arsenal. Goals seem automatic for him every game, but what about Fabregas? With the spotlight shining on RVP, Cesc has quietly scored four goals this season, just one behind van Persies’ goal haul. He will need to keep it up. Expect Fabregas to get involved early and often.

Tottenham

Team News

Jermaine Jenas is ready for the big match. After being ruled out of their midweek clash with Everton this past week with a calf strain, Jenas looks to return to the pitch for a match that he sees as “one of the biggest games of the season – if not the biggest.”

Captain Robbie Keane has been handing out lots of praise this week after the team’s solid victory against Everton. He can only hope that he’ll be saying the same good things Saturday night.

Injuries have been piling up for Spurs with four important first team players currently out with injury. Gio dos Santos, Jonathan Woodgate, Luka Modric, and Aaron Lennon are all nursing various injuries. Gio is the only player who may be back in time for Saturday’s match.

Tottenham Form

Tottenham are off to a blistering start this season – quite unlike last season – and find themselves in 4th place on the table. Currently tied on points with Arsenal, a victory would see them leapfrog the Gunners into 3rd place.

Facing their fourth Big Four matchup of the season, Tottenham need to step it up for this big match as they are only 1-0-2 against the other three Big Four clubs.

50:50. Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe have scored 11 of Tottenham’s 21 goals this season. They will need to keep up this form if they plan on staving off a potent Arsenal attack.

Key Man: Peter Crouch. Too bad this wasn’t a Carling Cup match, or Crouch would be sure to score. In two cup matches Crouch has scored four times. Compare that to his one goal in nine Premier League appearances, and we have an issue. Crouch needs to find that scoring touch that we’ve become so used to. He needs to take advantage of his height on corner kicks and knock some headers toward goal on Saturday, because there are not that many ways to beat Arsenal thus far this season. Crouch holds the key to Tottenham’s success on Saturday, so let’s see what he can do.

Prediction

Goals were plentiful last year when they played to a 4-4 draw at the Emirates. Both teams will be looking to match that goal total offensively while cracking down on defense. It will certainly be a massive battle between the two sides, and one that should draw a large American audience on ESPN2. Nobody will be disappointed – except the losing team – because there are plenty of fireworks when these two squads meet. That’s why I’m predicting lots of goals from both sides. I can’t see the home team losing this one, as much as I would like to pick a Tottenham victory. Arsenal wins 3-2.