Some good games there!

Will be tough but I think even with our injuries it wont really change the game - Spurs will start 100mph and be all over us, need to weather that and hit them on the counter, try to exploit that high line.

I've never been less confident on predicting our line up!

Just saw Bissouma, VDV, Solanke and Bentancur are out for Sunday? Think they have it worse than us for injuries!

comment by Chris H (U15205)
posted 1 minute ago
Just saw Bissouma, VDV, Solanke and Bentancur are out for Sunday? Think they have it worse than us for injuries!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
gotta win something

one upping you on unavailability cause we will struggle too in the game

with your defence and our wastefulness in the final thirds, not confident even though you have no midfield

Good article DJ

From a Spurs perspective - more than ever, this is a game we daren’t lose. Arsenals missing players, the previous 2 occasions and our patchy start make this must not lose territory for Ange - plus the rivalry of course.

2 games linger in the memory for me:

April 2010 - Spurs were chasing their first ever CL appearance having missed out due to lasagne gate years earlier. We had a tough run in though Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton at home and Man City (who were our competitors for 4th) and Burnley away. Danny Rose famously scored a wonder volley after 10 mins to put us 1-0 up and it stayed like that until half time. 10 mins into the second half, Gareth Bale, who Spurs had come within a whisker of selling to Forest for £3m the previous January, latched on to a Defoe through ball to poke us 2-0 up. Arsenal rallied, pulled one back, before Heurelho Gomes pulled off a wonder save to deny RVP and equaliser. The atmosphere that night was special, absolute cacophony of noise. We took that momentum into Chelsea and beat them 2-1 - this game was essentially the birth of Gareth Bale as he turned Kohn Terry into mince. We followed up with a home win against Bolton 1-0 and then played City away with a win guaranteeing CL qualification - a Crouch header given us all 3 points.

The other game is Jan 2008, league cup second leg. The first leg had ended 1-1. The ground that night was one of our loudest atmospheres ever and Arsenal just couldn’t cope from the get go. We romped to a brilliant 5-1 win with Arsenal just falling apart - Bendtner and Adebayor falling out with each other hilariously. Spurs went on to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final with King and Woodgate playing like Prime Maldini and Baresi.

comment by Chris H (U15205)
posted 10 minutes ago
Just saw Bissouma, VDV, Solanke and Bentancur are out for Sunday? Think they have it worse than us for injuries!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nope

Biss is being assessed, but expected to be back

No one knows anything about Solanke or VDV at this stage - keeping it tight about whether they have been training or not.

Richy - matters not, he won’t start anyway, even if Solanken is missing

I don't think Bentancur is out? And VdV and Solanke are probably fit too?

comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 4 minutes ago
I don't think Bentancur is out? And VdV and Solanke are probably fit too?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bentancur has been charged over his racist remarks to Son pre season - however he has until next Thursday to respond and is therefore definitely available on Sunday.

I think Biss is highly likely to start

Good VDV and Solanke are available.

Richy you never know, he seems to really struggle with injuries

comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 4 minutes ago
I don't think Bentancur is out? And VdV and Solanke are probably fit too?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bentancur has been charged over his racist remarks to Son pre season - however he has until next Thursday to respond and is therefore definitely available on Sunday.

I think Biss is highly likely to start

Good VDV and Solanke are available.

Richy you never know, he seems to really struggle with injuries
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Good chance VDV and Solanke available

Oh, that serves me right for scanning articles then!

Hopefully Richarlison is fully fit and available

Spurs always seemed to have some randomer score from 25 yards against us. Bentley, rose, walker, huddlestone, jenas. Feels like they're due another one

comment by Tu Meke (U3732)
posted 5 minutes ago
Spurs always seemed to have some randomer score from 25 yards against us. Bentley, rose, walker, huddlestone, jenas. Feels like they're due another one
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Porro loves a thunder bastad and VDV has it in his locker as well.

You forgot the most famous one - Gazza in 91 with “schoolboys own stuff” - great commentary

On a personal level, I always find this fixture conflicting. On the one hand I can’t stand Arsenal and want to give them an absolute hiding.

On the other hand, half my family are Gooners and I have 3 close mates that are Gooners. I tend to watch these games (well the away games as I go to most home games) with family and friends and so have to just let it go after 90 mins if we’ve lost as I can’t let it affect these relationships.

If spurs are open, we win again

comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 43 minutes ago
On a personal level, I always find this fixture conflicting. On the one hand I can’t stand Arsenal and want to give them an absolute hiding.

On the other hand, half my family are Gooners and I have 3 close mates that are Gooners. I tend to watch these games (well the away games as I go to most home games) with family and friends and so have to just let it go after 90 mins if we’ve lost as I can’t let it affect these relationships.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Although we are great rivals I don't think there's much animosity between different family members supporting either club, it's just great banter.

My work colleague's wife was an Arsenal fan, him a Spurs fan, he would just come to work and give me stick if they won, which wasn't a lot in those days

comment by Passion Power - Make 1984 fiction again (U8398)
posted 43 minutes ago
comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 43 minutes ago
On a personal level, I always find this fixture conflicting. On the one hand I can’t stand Arsenal and want to give them an absolute hiding.

On the other hand, half my family are Gooners and I have 3 close mates that are Gooners. I tend to watch these games (well the away games as I go to most home games) with family and friends and so have to just let it go after 90 mins if we’ve lost as I can’t let it affect these relationships.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Although we are great rivals I don't think there's much animosity between different family members supporting either club, it's just great banter.

My work colleague's wife was an Arsenal fan, him a Spurs fan, he would just come to work and give me stick if they won, which wasn't a lot in those days
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, it’s always a funny rivalry where you can family members supporting either side, the Scousers are the same.

My Dad was Spurs and his older brother was Arsenal - they used to go to the match together all the time. One time on the way home from Spurs they got chased by Spurs fans who thought they were both Arsenal and had to hide in someones garden for about quarter of an hour until the mob stopped looking.

Im a bit like your colleague, I say a few things about Arsenal on here that I don’t say at home in order to keep the peace

comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
Good article DJ

From a Spurs perspective - more than ever, this is a game we daren’t lose. Arsenals missing players, the previous 2 occasions and our patchy start make this must not lose territory for Ange - plus the rivalry of course.

2 games linger in the memory for me:

April 2010 - Spurs were chasing their first ever CL appearance having missed out due to lasagne gate years earlier. We had a tough run in though Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton at home and Man City (who were our competitors for 4th) and Burnley away. Danny Rose famously scored a wonder volley after 10 mins to put us 1-0 up and it stayed like that until half time. 10 mins into the second half, Gareth Bale, who Spurs had come within a whisker of selling to Forest for £3m the previous January, latched on to a Defoe through ball to poke us 2-0 up. Arsenal rallied, pulled one back, before Heurelho Gomes pulled off a wonder save to deny RVP and equaliser. The atmosphere that night was special, absolute cacophony of noise. We took that momentum into Chelsea and beat them 2-1 - this game was essentially the birth of Gareth Bale as he turned Kohn Terry into mince. We followed up with a home win against Bolton 1-0 and then played City away with a win guaranteeing CL qualification - a Crouch header given us all 3 points.

The other game is Jan 2008, league cup second leg. The first leg had ended 1-1. The ground that night was one of our loudest atmospheres ever and Arsenal just couldn’t cope from the get go. We romped to a brilliant 5-1 win with Arsenal just falling apart - Bendtner and Adebayor falling out with each other hilariously. Spurs went on to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final with King and Woodgate playing like Prime Maldini and Baresi.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I was at both those games.

My ST was right in line with that RVP volley and the save. Amazing skill from RVP, chest and volley, which looked like it was flying top corner only for old octopus arms to claw it over somehow.

I have a good feeling about this. Arsenal are a very strong team and especially defensively but i just think that if they are missing a midfield, especially Rice & Odegaard who are critical to them, they are going to be lacking a lot in terms of controlling the game and being able to exploit our weaknesses.

Despite our meagre return, i actually think the team will be confident as we have played very well for the vast majority of the 3 games. Just moments have cost us and that for me will be what defines this game - Can we avoid silly individual mistakes, can we avoid being wasteful. If we can then i think we can draw or beat them - that's assuming we have VDV Solanke Bissouma available which, by the sounds of it, is likely.

I'm so excited for this game. Cannot wait!


Good article BTW DJ

comment by Chris H (U15205)
posted 4 hours, 14 minutes ago
Hopefully Richarlison is fully fit and available
----------------------------------------------------------------------
bad luck

Raheem Sterling may get a game if he is fit