Arsenal vs. Tottenham: Match Preview

Arsenal's arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Emirates for the first leg of the Carling Cup semifinals on Wednesday to face the mighty Gunners for the third time this season.

Arsene Wenger has already defeated two of Juande Ramos' sides this season, including Sevilla in the Champions League before the Spaniard made the switch to North London. Arsenal have also completed the league double over their London rivals, winning 3-1 at White Heart Lane and 2-1 at the Emirates.

Spurs fans will take solace from the fact that Wenger always fields a younger lineup in the Carling Cup, but a 3-2 extra time win over Blackburn in the last round proved that even Arsenal's youngsters are a force to be reckoned with.

The game promises to be high scoring, as Tottenham fans have seen 23 goals in their last four matches and Arsenal have failed to hit the back of the net in only one of their 33 games this season.

This could prove to be a problem for both teams as a leaky Spurs backline and an inexperienced Gunners backline may mean that the game is decided on an error rather than a moment of brilliance.

However, the likes of Abou Diaby, Eduardo, and Nicklas Bendtner could win the game for Arsenal and Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane could do the same for Tottenham.

Arsenal are likely to field a lineup similar to the one that faced Blackburn last month, although Alex Song will miss the match on international duty with Cameroon.

Lukasz Fabianski will probably start in goal as the last line of defense behind Justin Hoyte, Philippe Senderos, Johan Djourou, and Armand Traore.

In the midfield Abou Diaby, Lassana Diarra, Neves Denilson may be joined by the more experienced Gilberto, although 18 year-olds Kieran Gibbs or Mark Randall.

Up front Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner are likely to complete one of the most potent second-string lineups in the world. Both scored against Burnley on Sunday, and will be looking to prove their worth as Robin van Persie looks set to return against Birmingham on the weekend.

Any game against a Premier League side is tough, and Spurs will be looking to record a win over Arsenal this season after losing twice, but a gritty and determined young Arsenal squad should be able to pull out a 2-1 win, giving the team an advantage going into the second leg.

Arsenal vs. Tottenham: Match Review

Arsenal completed the double over arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur as they escaped from a nervy encounter with three points. The Gunners, who were heavy favorites to win the match despite Tottenham's recent resurgence, went a goal up just after halftime when Emmanuel Adebayor scored his tenth league goal of the season, but Dimitar Berbatov levelled in the 66th. Robbie Keane then saw a penalty fabulously saved by Manuel Almunia before substitute Nicklas Bendtner headed in with his first touch of the match to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory.

Lineups:
Arsenal: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, William Gallas, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy; Emmanuel Eboue, Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini, Alex Hleb, Tomas Rosicky; Emmanuel Adebayor

Tottenham: Paul Robinson; Young-Pyo Lee, Younes Kaboul, Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio; Kevin-Prince Boateng, Jamie O'Hara, Steed Malbranque, Aaron Lennon; Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov

Arsenal rushed out of the gates, with Mathieu Flamini hooking a volley just off target in the second minute.

Spurs were trying their best to contain Arsenal and play on the break, but Kolo Toure still managed to get onto a Cesc Fabregas free kick, but the ball fell tamely to Paul Robinson.

Tottenham were playing their game well though, and chances were hard to come by for both sides.

Robinson finally made his first real save in the 33rd minute when Emmanuel Eboue took a shot at the England stopper's right goalpost.

The game began to liven up as half time approached with Almunia saving a free kick from Dimitar Berbatov and Kevin-Prince Boateng curling an effort just over the Spaniard's crossbar.

Toure once again got on the end of a Fabregas free kick just before half time, but Paul Robinson was equal to his effort again, and the half time whistle sounded with the teams level.

The second half was much more lively.

Cesc Fabregas' cheeky backheel met Emmanuel Adebayor in the penalty area only minutes after the second half started, and the tall Togo striker finished well, curling the ball past Robinson, putting him on top of the Premier League's scoring chart this season.

Robbie Keane volleyed into the crossbar after meeting a cross from Aaron Lennon in the 65th minute, as Tottenham looked to equalize.

The equalizer came only a minute later after Keane backheeled to Berbatov who finished neatly past Mathieu Flamini and Kolo Toure at the near post.

Berbatov was involved again when Kolo Toure brought the Bulgarian down in the penalty area. Keane stepped up, but Almunia dove the right way to brilliantly deny Tottenham a second goal.

Arsene Wenger then sent Nicklas Bendtner on for Emmanuel Eboue and Arsenal were immediately rewarded.

In the 74th minute Nicklas Bendtner rose unmarked in the box to head past Paul Robinson with his first touch in the game. There could be no better way to endear oneself to Arsenal fans than scoring the winner in the North London derby, and the 19 year-old Dane seems like he may have himself quite a future at the Emirates.

Bendtner nearly set up Adebayor for a third, but the striker was muscled off of the ball.

Adel Taraabt then had a penalty shout dismissed by referee Rob Styles who blew the final whistle soon after.

Tottenham vs Arsenal: Match Preview

Arsenal's return from an international break will begin this Saturday, September 15, as the gunners face Tottenham at White Heart Lane in the North London derby. The derby between these fierce rivals should be a good game, despite the Spurs abysmal start to the 2007/08 season.

Arsenal have begun the season well, coming into our 5th match tied on points with leaders Liverpool, despite having played a game less than Tottenham, Chelsea, and last years Barclay's Premier League champions, Manchester United. The only 2 points that Arsenal have dropped were due to an error from Jens Lehmann against Blackburn, and otherwise Arsenal have beaten Fulham, high-flying Manchester City, and Portsmouth.

Tottenham, who were supposedly going to challenge an Henry-less Arsenal for a Champions League spot this year, find themselves in 14th place, with only 4 points from 5 games. Arsenal should have an easy time defeating a team which has already lost to Sunderland, Everton, Manchester United, and drawn against Fulham. The only team that the Spurs have managed to beat is arguably the worst team ever to ply their trade in the Premiership, Derby.

Speaking of Derby, this is the first derby of the season for Arsene Wenger's boys, and the outcome here will be important in silencing critics of the young Arsenal squad. It could also be an important game for Martin Jol, as rumor has it that the Tottenham manager will be fired if he fails to win at White Heart Lane on Saturday. Justin Hoyte spoke out on how the players love this game, and the fans do as well, as a drubbing of the Spurs always cheers up an Arsenal fan.

Arsenal will be able to field a fairly complete squad on Saturday, with the only doubts being William Gallas, Emanuel Eboue, and Jens Lehmann. Philippe Senderos will also miss the match due to suspension after his red card in the game against Portsmouth. However, with Gilberto likely to start in a central defensive position and Bacary Sagna returning from injury at right-back, Arsenal shouldn't have too much defensive trouble.

A leaky Tottenham defense which is still missing Ledley King should prove to be Martin Jol's downfall, especially considering the recent scoring spree of Arsenal's midfielders. Jol may be forced to play a not-yet-fit Aaron Lennon in an attempt to score more goals, but I still doubt that Tottenham will score more than 1 goal. Classy Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov will be the Spurs' greatest threat, but even he will have trouble scoring against an Arsenal defense that has let in only 2 goals in all competitions this season (both coming from Jens Lehmann blunders.)

I would like to see Eduardo start in his first North London derby, but even after scoring 3 international goals for Croatia during the break, I fear that Arsene Wenger may start the hard-working but inconsistent Emanuel Adebayor alongside Robin van Persie instead.

Gael Clichy and Kolo Toure will make up the rest of the defensive line (alongside Gilberto and Sagna). In the midfield, the fabulous Cesc Fabregas will start along with Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky. If Gilberto is played as a central defender, I would like to see how Lassana Diarra does in his holding midfield role, and I think it is likely that Wenger will opt to play him over Flamini or Denilson.

Our makeshift back line shouldn't cause any problems if our midfielders and strikers continue to score, and the return of Bacary Sagna will strengthen our defense. The atmosphere of the North London derby will spur on the Spurs though, so while I would like to predict a clean sheet, I would have to guess that the game will end 3-1 in the favor of Arsenal.

Edit: The game did indeed end 3-1. Click here for the Match Review