LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: William Saliba of Arsenal during the UEFA Champions League match between Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven at Emirates Stadium on September 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Reason #3: Aerial advantage
As per FBREF, Tottenham currently have the lowest percentage of aerial duels won this season in the Premier League (41.1%), and although Arsenal sit on just 44.1%, the Gunners have plenty of players, such as William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who could capitalize on this weakness from Spurs at set-pieces.
Of course, all of us would rather win this match as a result of free-flowing, attacking football that carves the Tottenham defense open with ease. However, Spurs are in good form heading into this match, and should we be unable to do that, then goals from corners and free-kicks may be relied upon to secure us the three points.
FBREF, Tottenham have recorded the fourth most touches in their own defensive third this season, with 1,105.</p>
<p>Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have become an excellent pressing side, which was displayed to a very high level against PSV in the Champions League midweek, and therefore, will be confident that they will be able to force Spurs into potentially costly mistakes.</p>
<p>If Tottenham are unable to stay composed and play through our press, then players such as Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard, and Bukayo Saka may be gifted chances in front of goal.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason #2 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136557 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1898,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1694463983-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1898" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1694463983-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1694463983-768x569.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1694463983-1536x1139.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1694463983-2048x1518.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal during the UEFA Champions League match between Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven at Emirates Stadium on September 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Reason #2: Space to exploit</h2>
<p>The second reason is the fact that while Spurs’ new front-foot philosophy under Postecoglou has made them a more potent attacking side, it also means that they leave more space for the opposition to exploit in relation to previous seasons.</p>
<p>As per <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/3/"https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/Premier-League-Stats">FBREF, Tottenham has so far recorded an expected goals-against figure of 1.38 per 90 minutes, compared to a figure of 1.31 in the 2022/23 campaign. While those figures do not seem all that far apart, and in truth, they aren’t, however, it is also worth noting that Spurs have so far faced primarily weak opposition, and therefore, a stronger team, such as Arsenal, may exploit their increased defensive vulnerability more effectively.</p>
<p>The Gunners’ attack finally clicked into gear against PSV, and Saka and co could be primed for an excellent display in the match.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Reason #3 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-136558 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1707,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1678433736-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1707" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1678433736-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1678433736-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1678433736-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1678433736-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:2560px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: William Saliba of Arsenal during the UEFA Champions League match between Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven at Emirates Stadium on September 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Reason #3: Aerial advantage</h2>
<p>As per <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/24/3-reasons-arsenal-tottenham-north-london-derby/3/"https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/Premier-League-Stats">FBREF, Tottenham currently have the lowest percentage of aerial duels won this season in the Premier League (41.1%), and although Arsenal sit on just 44.1%, the Gunners have plenty of players, such as William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who could capitalize on this weakness from Spurs at set-pieces.</p>
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<p>Of course, all of us would rather win this match as a result of free-flowing, attacking football that carves the Tottenham defense open with ease. However, Spurs are in good form heading into this match, and should we be unable to do that, then goals from corners and free-kicks may be relied upon to secure us the three points.</p>
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