NLD: Expectations remain low, but stranger things have happened...

The first game you look for when the fixture list for the season is unveiled or the match you dread the most? The North London Derby stirs up all sorts of emotions for fans and Saturday’s clash against Arsenal at the Emirates already has me chomping at the bit and feeling extremely nervous at the same time!

After beating London rivals West Ham and QPR in our opening two fixtures without conceding a goal, everything was looking rather rosy on the blue and white side of North London. Unfortunately, our season has somewhat stalled since those two victories and we go into the weekend desperate for a result – not only for morale boosting purposes, but also because we will find ourselves playing catch up very quickly if we don’t get back to winning ways soon.

Our arch rivals

While the new-look Arsenal are yet to set the Premiership alight, they certainly look more of a force than Tottenham in the opening weeks of the season. Coming off the back of a great win against Aston Villa in their last league fixture, they will be confident of beating Spurs and piling more misery on the Tottenham fans.

Will the pace of the Gunners attack once again destroy Spurs defence?

In three fixtures against Arsenal last season, we failed to find the back of the net, losing on all three occasions.

People could argue we were a tad unfortunate to lose 1-0 at the Emirates in the league last September, but the same most definitely could not be said for the FA Cup defeat in January. Theo Walcott completely terrorised our back four before being forced off with an injury, one he is still yet to return from. The fixture at White Hart Lane was sealed in the first 90 seconds thanks to a wonder strike by Tomáš Rosický, and although Spurs played fairly well in the second half, Arsenal should’ve been out of sight before the half-time whistle. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the thorn in our side that day and his speed petrified our defence throughout the match.

With Walcott still on the treatment table and Oxlade-Chamberlain unlikely to start, does that mean we no longer have to worry about the pace of the Gunners attack?! Erm, I wish that was the case! However, in all honestly, with Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck spearheading their frontline, I think we could be in for a rather long afternoon!

Does Mauricio Pochettino even know his best eleven yet?

The short and simple answer to this question is no! While he has deployed a very similar starting line-up for the majority of our Premiership matches, the performances must have the Argentinean questioning whether he has got it right yet. Of course, no one expects him to get it spot on instantly – just look at LVG at Manchester United after spending £150m.

Fans won’t take any defeat well and the chorus of boos around the ground after Sunday’s match against West Brom tells you all you need to know about the displeasure of the White Hart Lane faithful. A loss against the Gunners will not be greeted in the same manner, and is probably expected by the majority of Spurs fans (I for one can’t see us getting anything from the game), but nonetheless, losing against the arch-nemesis will not go down well.

Let’s hope for a repeat of the 2010/11 season though and leave the Emirates with all three points. Stranger things have happened….

 

I hate saying this, but as much as the result is important , the performance needs to be strong to get this team back on track.
I hate losing any game but what was so maddening about the west brom game was the fact it was gutless and left me feeling like the team was no further on that it ever was in the last year.
This game is bigger than ever and let's just hope the spurs do us all proud.

 

We are a very easy side to play against at the moment unfortunately .. Just sit back and let us have our mindless possession , wait for our paceless defense to push up and than hit us on the counter with plenty of pace .. They,ll slide balls through the middle all day long while the runners will run onto them from the outside .. If we play the same way tomm ( and we always do reguardless of set up or manager ) we could get a pasting while again having the majority of possession .. Hope not but this has the potential to get real ugly even against a side that haven't played well themselves this season .. Unfortunately this looks like a game thats made for them .. We,re all for flowing football but there's nothing wrong with changing your tactics drastically when needs be .. look at chelsea , they have no bother parking the bus when they go away to the better sides ..

 

Can't see anything other than a comfortable arsenal win by minimum two clear goals. Cannot see us scoring either.