Red versus White, Victoria Concordia Crescit versus Audere Est Facere, Arsenal versus Tottenham Hotspur.
The derby of all derbies is right around the corner, with this time an expectant crowd in N5 ready to see Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur lock horns.
It’s a derby with a huge geographical history, in the men’s game it’s one of the fiercest in the Premier League and many people believe that it is climbing to that level now at the top table of Women’s Football.
From Vivianne Miedema and Kim Little sealing victory in their first-ever WSL meeting in 2019, Arsenal smashing six past Spurs in 2020 and Alex Morgan missing a deciding penalty in the League Cup against the Gunners, the memorable moments have come thick and fast over the last four seasons.
That being said, the memorable ones tend to sit on the red side of the city, part due to Spurs’ recent history and only arriving in the WSL in 2019, part being due to Arsenal’s sheer quality.
In league encounters, Spurs have only scored four, (yes FOUR goals!) against the Gunners, with Lucia Leon, Rachel Williams, Bethany England and most recently, Martha Thomas on the list.
It was the Scot’s winner in the December fixture that gave Spurs a first-ever win over their arch-rivals and has put a cat amongst the pigeons amongst predictions for this encounter.
So, how exactly could Spurs go about beating their North London rivals in their own backyard?
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The Low Block and Counter approach, again?
One of the things that was so impressive about the Lilywhites’ historic win back in December was their ability to frustrate Arsenal seemingly all afternoon.
It might’ve been different had Caitlin Foord not crashed an effort off the post and was a whisker or two to the left early on, but remarkably, that was the closest Arsenal came to scoring in the first 45 that day.
They were denied countless times when they did eventually get through by Barbora Votikova, but Robert Vilahamn‘s tactics to restrict the Gunners’ chances were spot on.
Whilst setting up in his familiar 4-4-2, he elected to put Grace Clinton on the wing, and paired Ramona Petzelberger and Kit Graham in the middle, sitting very deep when Spurs didn’t have the ball.
Graham has more often than not been used in a further forward role, but that day in N17, she was more than comfortable in the deep-lying playmaker role, defending doggedly.
The 28-year-old showed her playmaking qualities in Spurs’ blistering counter attack as she set the ball off to Martha Thomas, who got round to get on the end of the ball into the middle from Celin Bizet to spark Lilywhite delirium.
Graham and her midfield partner Petzelberger had a stellar outing, both completing the full 90 minutes each, winning 13 ground duels between the two of them, drawing six fouls all in defensive positions to relieve pressure on Spurs and both covering virtually every single blade of grass on the pitch.
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Arsenal’s glaring weakness
After the loss at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a chink in the armour of Jonas Eidevall‘s side, their flaws at breaking down a team who sits behind the ball.
In that particular game, Eidevall chucked on all his attacking talent, leaving Alessia Russo, Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema all on the pitch for then the first time in Arsenal colours, alongside Cloe Lacasse and Stina Blackstenius.
With only one of the four subs used being midfielder, Kyra Cooney Cross, Arsenal effectively went for a 4-1-5 formation, with all their attacking intent and quality on the pitch.
Even with all said talent, they couldn’t muster up an equaliser against Spurs and suffered the same fate against West Ham just after the Christmas break too.
The two aforementioned defeats and their third one in the league, on the opening day to Liverpool all had the same problem, wasting chances and not being able to break a side down.
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Keep that big crowd quiet
It’s what Liverpool did on opening day, it’s what Aston Villa did for 89 minutes before a late capitulation, Spurs have to get under Arsenal’s skin and frustrate the crowd as well as their opponents.
It’s something that Manchester United and Chelsea failed to do, with two of Arsenal’s most convincing wins of the season coming in these two games.
In both those encounters, both in front of record WSL attendances, Arsenal were allowed to start on the front foot and get at their opponent.
With the sighting of away ends this season in the WSL becoming more prominent, Spurs will be backed as ever by their ardent supporters but will be numerically outnumbered by their Arsenal counterparts.
If Spurs can sit in, and frustrate Arsenal, the negativity will soon spin into the Emirates crowd and should be a key cog in Robert Vilahamn’s game plan.
It really promises to be a game for the ages, with Arsenal needing a win, other results aside to keep pace and potentially go level with Manchester City and Chelsea.
On Wednesday afternoon (28th Feb), there was a reported less than one thousand tickets available for the clash, potentially pointing towards another sell-out occasion at the Emirates Stadium.
With another Women’s Super League record in sight, Spurs seeking a historic double over their North London rivals and Arsenal needing a win for their title ambitions, Sunday in N5 will surely be a clash for the ages.
https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2024/02/27/womens-football/1174129-how-do-tottenham-beat-arsenal-womens-north-london-derby-pre-match-analysis.html
