Defence is key for Spurs at the Emirates.

 

From a Spurs point of view,Saturday's lunchtime match against their great rivals is by far the biggest game of the season so far. Both teams are high in confidence following impressive wins in their last outings with Spurs securing a high scoring 4-2 home win against Blackburn and Arsenal grinding out a gutsy win against Everton at Goodison Park.With the signing of Rafael Van Der Vaart and the rise and rise of Gareth Bale, some fans will say that this is Tottenham’s best chance of overcoming Arsenal on their own patch,and I would have to agree.Having seen them cruse past Inter in the Champions league only a few weeks ago I believe Tottenham are more than a match for the Gunners.It's been seventeen years since they beat Arsenal away from home and Saturday's game is one of their best opportunities to erase that sequence.
So, how are Spurs going to tackle the high flying Gunners in their own back yard?They need to play with a mix of intensity and passion that a North London derby requires.Spurs need to employ the same tactics they had in conquering the mighty Inter Milan at White Hart Lane a few weeks ago in order to overcome a team that are odds on favourites.Their ability to defend properly will be their biggest task.The expected back four of Hutton, Kaboul, Gallas and Assou-Ekotto will have to be at their very best to eliminate any threat of the Arsenal front line.Samir Nasri, Marouane Chamakh and Cesc Fabregas are the in-form players they have to be wary off when not in possession of the ball.They cannot afford to give the same chances to Arsenal as they did Blackburn Rovers last week as they will be punished.Tottenham will ultimately look to both Newcastle’s and West Brom’s impressive feats of coming away from the Emirates with 3 points this season. So why can’t Spurs?If Peter Crouch can emmulate the goal he scored for England on Wednesday night and Bale and Van der Vaart perform to their high standards Spurs have a real chance of leaving with all three points.The key test though is how the Spurs defence copes with a team scoring goals for fun.If they defend properly I can see Spurs sneaking all three points.