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Tottenham vs. Arsenal positional breakdown: Who has the edge?

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 08: Referee Martin Atkinson shows a yellow card to Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 8, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 08: Referee Martin Atkinson shows a yellow card to Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on November 8, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Nacer Chadli of Tottenham celebrate a goal which was disallowed during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Fiorentina at White Hart Lane on February 25, 2016 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Nacer Chadli of Tottenham celebrate a goal which was disallowed during the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 second leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and Fiorentina at White Hart Lane on February 25, 2016 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images) /

Nacer Chadli vs. Alexis Sanchez

There is some debate as to whether or not Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will choose to replace Chadli in the starting 11 with Hueng-Min Son. I’d love to believe that’s going to happen, but my gut tells me that Poch will stick with the more physical Belgian for what should be a hotly contested derby.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will almost certainly start Chilean star Alexis Sanchez. There’s been a lot of chatter about his dip in form as of late, but he’s still a world-class talent. Betting against him to play one of his best matches of the year given his team’s desperation would be very foolish.

Even suffering from a slight injury and a run of poor form, Tottenham will still focus a lot of their defensive attention on Alexis. Even if he isn’t the one taking advantage of that, it creates a great deal of space for the team’s other attackers. Frankly, his reputation is good enough to influence the game on its own.

This might be the most one-sided match-up on the pitch. Chadli is not in Alexis’ league and would need to play one of his best matches to even earn a draw. Arsenal is the clear winner at this position.

Advantage: Arsenal

Next: Number 10

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