Arsenal meet Spurs at the Emirates on Sunday with both clubs suddenly surging in confidence. Arsenal put one foot into the Europa League quarter-finals with a hardworking midweek victory in Greece. Spurs meanwhile, having been roundly criticised as recently as last month for their lack of attacking ambition, have won their last five matches in all competitions with an aggregate score of 15-2.
Unsurprisingly, key to this revival of fortune has been Harry Kane. Back-to-back braces heading into this weekend’s clash have pushed his stats for the season to the fairly ridiculous heights of 26 goals and 16 assists in 37 games, with 16 and 13 respectively in the Premier League alone. Now, as if he needed any further incentive, he arrives at his favourite fixture.
Kane is already the all-time leading goalscorer in North London derby history, having fired his 11th career goal in the fixture last season (Kudos if you knew that he took the record from Emmanuel Adebayor!). The Spurs star has long tormented Arsenal. Concerningly, Harry Kane version 20/21 has the ability to damage them in more ways than ever before.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Mikel Arteta this weekend is adapting to find a way to cope with Kane’s new playmaker role. Arsenal have struggled to contain the Tottenham talisman for years when playing as an out and out forward. Keeping him under wraps in 20/21 is an entirely different proposition. The daunting task ahead of the Gunners is to starve the league’s deadliest striker of opportunities whilst also halting the supply from the top flight’s assist leader. The unusual tactical dilemma Arsenal face is that these two threats come from the same man.
There has been encouragement for Arsenal in recent weeks, primarily the fact that the name Aubameyang has returned to the scoresheet on a regular basis. Even so, this fixture arrives at an unfortunate time. Gareth Bale’s resurgence has turned Spurs into a far more menacing proposition, primarily because Kane now has a second genuine goal threat to link with rather than a total reliance on his stellar relationship with Son Heung Min.
It would take a brave gambler to bet against Tottenham’s number 10 adding to his attacking statistics on Sunday. The question is; will it be Kane the goal scorer, Kane the provider or a nightmare combination of the two that squares off against the old enemy at the Emirates come 16:30 on Sunday?
In case you missed it – Gareth Bale’s return to form could spark a permanent deal for the Welshman.
