Sky Sports' Paul Merson's latest column on Arsenal's crucial upcoming matches against Tottenham and Man City in the Premier League and the role they'll play in the title race; Stream Tottenham vs Arsenal on Super Sunday with NOW, kick-off 2pm
Sunday 15 September 2024 09:22, UK
If there are two players Arsenal don't want to be without then it's Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
Whatever happens, the one thing you're assured of in the North London derby is goals and Arsenal will need to score goals. That gets cut now without those two playing.
Rice takes the ball up the pitch and Odegaard makes things happen in the final third. I don't think there's anybody that can replace Odegaard. He's a very, very special player and would be the first name on the teamsheet. Arsenal need him in the big moments to pick the right pass.
I'm trying to pick a midfield three and I can't. They might be good on the ball, but they're not going to get it back when Tottenham have it. That's the worry for me. Jorginho likes to sit there and I don't think Thomas Partey can go and play as a No 8.
Tottenham will be able to go through the lines because Arsenal aren't going to have the players that know the position inside out.
Odegaard doesn't go around and tackle people, but he does close people down. He knows the position and Rice is one of the best at his job.
In my opinion, Mikel Arteta has now got to drop Kai Havertz back into the midfield but then there's no Gabriel Jesus to play as the striker. They will probably end up playing with a false nine - that should be Leandro Trossard with Raheem Sterling on the wing.
Against this Tottenham team, you have to have players who are prepared to run without the ball to get in behind a high line and Sterling does that.
Arsenal's Premier League season all comes down to the next two games against Tottenham and Man City. They need four points. It's as simple as that.
If they get anything less, then you start to worry because you're playing catch-up against a machine in Man City.
If they draw against Spurs and lose at Man City a week later, they're probably going to be seven points behind and I think that would be it. I know there are 30-odd games left but I just can't see how they make up the seven points.
I was very bullish last year saying Arsenal would definitely win the North London Derby but I'm not so sure this season - and it's a game they can't afford to lose in the title race.
Last season, Arsenal dominated and then all of a sudden they let in a goal and you could only see one result, and that was Tottenham coming back.
I don't think there's a lot wrong with Tottenham at the moment. They have been bang unlucky. They could easily be sitting on nine points and top of the league.
Tottenham dominated Leicester and then should have got a draw against Newcastle at worst. They end up drawing and losing those two games.
With experience, you make sure you don't get beat at Newcastle and at Leicester when it did go 1-1, they didn't look like they were going to score again and that would have been worrying.
But that comes with experience and another year and another year. Look how long it took Man City to win the Champions League.
It's the same with the Premier League, the manager would have come away and gone, you know what, we should have just not lost against Newcastle.
At the time you're thinking if they don't win this game, they've just dropped two points.
There's not a lot in it at the moment with Spurs. They've not been as bad as what people probably think only because of the points they've got. The performances haven't been that bad.
Dominic Solanke is a good signing and takes Tottenham to another level.
What he's got to get used to is if you miss a few good chances then you're under the microscope. With no disrespect, when you're playing for Bournemouth and you miss three chances, there are no headlines about it. He'll have to get used to being at a big club and putting his chances away.
When he starts scoring, I think he could get 20 goals this season whereas Arsenal might be short of a centre forward. I'm not sure they did enough in the transfer window.
Rice is suspended and Odegaard and Mikel Merino are injured, so you'd think Havertz probably drops back into midfield but then Gabriel Jesus is injured - and wouldn't score 20 goals - and they got rid of Eddie Nketiah, so now you're looking at having to play someone else up there.
He could play Trossard or even Sterling but that's a big ask for a winger to play up front at a new club.
You might get away with it for two or three games playing a false nine, but you wouldn't want to go seven, eight, nine games with one.
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