Both playing horrible but could be a great spark to end the last couple of games until the end of year strong. Is Dembele back? Also, is this game a deal breaker for AVB?
about time we got this thread up. i honestly can't remember when i've been this underwhelmed by a north london derby. and i'm not sure why, really. i mean, yes, we're a bit crap at the moment, but we've certainly been far worse within recent memory (by old guy standards, anyway). and we're not as likely to get thrashed, either, as they're crap, too. i'm sure i'll be up for it when i drag myself out of bed in the morning ... but the internal buildup for this has been almost non-existent. my giddy rating (on a 1-10 scale) is around 2.7, whereas the day before most NLDs, it's coming in at between 9 and 9.5. COME ON YOU SPURS, dammit. ... hup! ... 2.8.
Yep, it's a bit flat for me too. I put that down to the middling form of both teams, and being distracted by some personal issues - though this is not the right forum to be discussing them Dembele is definitely out, he may not even make it for Lazio. So we'll be seeing more of Hudd. Selection questions are the front man, Defoe/Ade and CAM, Sigi/Clint/Carroll possibly. Have we ever done well when we are the early game? If you offered me a draw now, I would take it.
I'm about a 3.9. Still have a shift at work, but after some post-work beers with some friends, I'll be hovering around 6.5-7ish. Once my alarm goes off in the morning though...at least an 8. I have zero desire to head to t'pub to watch this though, which I guess has been the case with all of our games this year, which may be more of a comment on the state of t'pub more than anything, but I digress. COYS!
I'll take Dembele on one leg over Sig/Dempsey/Thudd the past month. If he can stand, he must play, simple as that. Let's get some flippin revenge for last season!
Yup, me, too. I actually forgot it was a NLD until I checked when Spurs play about 15 min ago. Of course, I'm working on my Master's Thesis, so I am a bit distracted...
I hate these fooking early games. Kills us west coast folks. I will do my best to be up and coherent, but that is 4 hours from now for us. Please, God, let it be a win!
I echo a couple of the main points already made: - No Dembele is potentially fatal; Hudds chasing around Cazorla and Wilshere is not a reassuring thought. I rarely say this but we may be best served by-passing the midfield and hitting Bale/Ade up top early and hoping it sticks / Dempsey and Lennon pick up the pieces. - Also a bit underwhelmed by the fixture and for me it's a combination of a) I won't get to watch the game; and b) the spice of recent years has been the whole 'balance of power' angle. While Arsenal have continued to regress, we've not held up our end of the bargain as (particularly sans Dembele) this is clearly our weakest team in the last 3 years. Nevertheless, COYS! I'll be following online / peeking into pubs (back in London this weekend)
Lloris, Naughton, Ade and Defoe all starting. Caulker out injured. Goons look pretty much full strength. We'll have bugger all possession look at the two centre of midfields, but hopefully defend well and counter properly for a change
Right around 8.5 now. which is pretty good. Edgar Dogvids is at a 7 though, the lazy fooker is still sleeping!
With two taller guys on lennon and defoe any headers are going to be lost. Only way we score IMO is using our speed up top to burn the slow back 4.