PREMIER LEAGUE THURSDAY: The Striker previews Thursday’s Premier League London derby between SPURS and ARSENAL with extended match stats and a recommended BETDAQ bet.
TOTTENHAM V ARSENAL
7.45pm The Premier League has saved the best until last for this round of midweek fixtures as we have the North London Derby on Thursday night! I think it would be fair to say that we haven’t had a Spurs v Arsenal game as big as this one for a while, and I’m sure there will be plenty of big opinions on the prices on BETDAQ Betting Exchange . The odds at the time of writing currently trade; Spurs 2.2, Arsenal 3.5 and the draw is 3.7.
Spurs kept their hopes of a fourth place finish alive last weekend with a hard earned 1-1 draw away to Liverpool. If they had lost that game the Top Four race would be over before this fixture, but a four point gap does keep things interesting. There’s no getting away from the fact that this is a must win game for Spurs, and that Arsenal would be happy with a draw. I’m sure most neutral fans will be hoping for a Spurs win for the drama heading into the final two games. The reality is neither side are that good under pressure, and it would definitely make for an interesting finish if Spurs won here!
It’s the FA Cup Final weekend this weekend, so Spurs meet Burnley on Sunday with Arsenal away to Newcastle on Monday. Then on the final day Arsenal have home advantage against Everton and Spurs are away to Norwich. Spurs definitely have the easier fixture list – on paper Arsenal should win their two games but they will start at higher prices than Spurs and if Spurs could win tonight I think there will be drama at some stage over the last two weekends. The big question is are Spurs good enough to win? Arsenal have been playing the better football of the two sides, and they have been creating more chances too.
Spurs played very well against Liverpool, they had to go with negative tactics to get a result and they did the job well. Jurgen Klopp moaned, but an open game would have saw Liverpool come out on top. Spurs were good against Leicester before the Liverpool game, but we all know that Leicester have been very poor this season. If I was a Spurs fan I would be very worried about the performances against Brentford and Brighton – two sides who play nice football and I feel the 2.2 is way too short here.
As I said above, Arsenal have been playing the better football of the two sides recently. I don’t think there’s a question about that. Not only have they been playing well, but they have been grinding out wins too. That’s a very positive sign for Arsenal because they will come under pressure at some stage here, but they aren’t throwing in the towel like we’ve seen in the past. They played very well against Leeds at the weekend, and I wouldn’t put anyone off backing Arsenal here to win at 3.5. Spurs have conceded a lot of sloppy goals this season, and Arsenal have been creating a host of chances recently.
On balance however, Arsenal only need to draw here to put themselves in a fantastic position for that fourth spot heading into the final two games. They won’t drop points in both games, so it’s likely they’ll see Champions League football for the first time since the 2016/17 season which is remarkable. I know their fans are always on their case about challenging for the title but Arsenal turned into a midtable side when Wenger left, to get back to fourth is a great achievement. I feel we’ll have a very close game here and the 2.2 is very short. I think there’s so much value in the lay that it has to be a Max Bet – Spurs haven’t played well enough to justify this price.
The Striker Says:
Five points lay (liability) Tottenham to beat Arsenal at 2.2 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/TotArs
MATCH STATS
● Tottenham are unbeaten in their last seven home league games against Arsenal (W5 D2), their longest such run against their north London rivals since a run of nine between 1960 and 1968.
● Following their 3-1 victory at the Emirates in September, Arsenal are looking to complete their first league double over Tottenham since the 2013-14 campaign.
● Tottenham are looking to win three consecutive home league games against Arsenal for the first time since August 1961.
● This is just the second ever meeting between Tottenham and Arsenal on a Thursday, with the other coming almost exactly 50 years ago to the day – a 2-0 win for Spurs at Highbury on 11th May 1972.
● After a run of four straight Premier League victories, Tottenham have won just one of their last four (D2 L1). However, Spurs have won four of their last five home league games (L1), netting at least three goals in all four victories.
● Victory for Arsenal will secure them their highest Premier League finish (at least fourth) since the 2015-16 campaign when they finished second. It will also be the first time since that season that they have finished above their north London rivals Tottenham.
● Spurs manager Antonio Conte has won just one of his eight meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (D4 L3), with all of these coming as Chelsea manager between 2016 and 2018. Of clubs he’s faced at least five times in his managerial career, against no side does the Italian have a lower win rate than against the Gunners (12.5%).
● After failing to score or assist in any of his first nine Premier League games against Arsenal, Tottenham’s Son Heung-min has had a hand in five goals in his last four north London derby appearances (3 goals, 2 assists).
● Tottenham striker Harry Kane is the top scorer in north London derby history in all competitions, netting 11 goals in his 16 games for Spurs against Arsenal. However, he’s not scored in either of his last two appearances against the Gunners, his longest drought against them in his career.
● Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka were both on the scoresheet for Arsenal in their 3-1 victory against Spurs in the reverse fixture. The last Englishman to score for the Gunners in both home and away fixtures against Spurs in a single season was Ian Wright in 1993-94.
