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Arsenal v Tottenham: 5 reasons Spurs will win the North London Derby

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 30: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur and Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur embrace after he is subbed during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at White Hart Lane on April 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 30: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur and Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur embrace after he is subbed during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at White Hart Lane on April 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Per Mertesacker of Arsenal looks on during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Doncaster Rovers at Emirates Stadium on September 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 20: Per Mertesacker of Arsenal looks on during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Doncaster Rovers at Emirates Stadium on September 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /

5. Per Mertesacker is a target

There was a time when the sight of Per Mertesacker in the starting XI gave Arsenal fans a lot of comfort. Saturday’s North London Derby is not that fixture.

Instead, Pochettino’s attack will target the German defender early and often. His lack of foot speed could cause him real problems against Spurs’ talented attackers. In particular, he’s going to struggle mightily to track Dele Alli’s late runs down the middle of the pitch.

Arsenal optimists will correctly point out that Mertesacker is an excellent defender in the air. Against some opponents that would prove to be extremely valuable. Unfortunately, Tottenham don’t play enough long balls in the air to play to Mertesacker’s strength.

Wenger will do everything he can to provide his back line with a ton of support on Saturday. No matter how deep his midfielders drop, Spurs will still be able to take advantage of Mertesacker. Look for Tottenham to attack Arsenal down the middle early and often.

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