Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur welcome Arsenal for the North London Derby on Sunday.
The two sides share a very fierce rivalry, and anything but a win for the two clubs, especially Arsenal, will be viewed as a disappointing result.
Mikel Arteta will go for the win on Sunday, but Arsenal could be without seven players for the North London Derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
That, in all likelihood, makes them weaker, but Postecoglou is just not prepared to allow his players to think that way ahead of the big game.
Ange Postecoglou reacts to Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard missing Tottenham vs Arsenal
Arsenal will definitely be without Declan Rice when they face Tottenham because the Englishman is suspended following his red card against Brighton.
That is a huge blow in itself, but unfortunately for the Gunners, there’s more bad news.
Martin Odegaard could be out for a month due to an ankle injury he suffered while playing for Norway against Austria.
Everyone will agree that Arsenal are weaker without Rice and Odegaard in their side, but Postecoglou is having none of that.
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The Tottenham boss still believes the Gunners are ‘very strong’, and he has claimed that if his players think Arsenal will be weak without Odegaard and Rice, Spurs will get ‘punished’.
When asked if Rice and Odegaard’s unavailability gives Tottenham an advantage, Postecoglou said as relayed on HaytersTV: “That’s a hell of a trap to fall into if you think they’re relying on just two players.
“Yeah, they are two important players, we were missing key players last year as well but we still managed to have significant performances.
“I think it seems like Arsenal, like I said have been very, very consistent over the last two years, can fill whatever gaps they have, they’ve got some good quality in their squad. The key for us is to focus on our performance.”
Postecoglou further added: “If you go in there thinking they are going to be somehow weak, I think you’re going to get punished. I think we go in there thinking and believing they are very strong, which I think they will be.
“We’ve got to be at our best. We know, at our best and playing the football we can, we can match with them.”
How Arsenal could beat Tottenham in the North London Derby
Postecoglou has definitely improved Tottenham since he took charge of the club, and as annoying as it is to say, Spurs are a good side now.
However, there are still some very obvious weaknesses that Arsenal could exploit.
Individually, Tottenham’s first-choice backline of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie are very good, but collectively, they can be a mess.
In the 2023/24 season, Spurs conceded 61 goals in 38 games – that’s over twice as many as Arsenal did in the entire campaign.
Tottenham play a high line that often gets them in trouble. If Arteta’s midfielders can get the ball in behind those defenders and release the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Raheem Sterling, Arsenal will destroy Spurs.
Arsenal will definitely have chances in the derby on Sunday. All they need to do is convert them.