Arsenal v Spurs : biggest factor is rhythm

On days like this, we talk about factors.

What factors will swing this North London derby?

Will it be Nasri or Van der Vaart?
Will it be Fabianski or Gomes?
Will it be a substitute who makes a big impact?
Will Fabregas run the game and score as well?
Will Gareth Bale score a couple?

Will referee Phil Dowd miss a penalty or send somebody off?

Theo Walcott is being touted to start, with Nasri on the left. I don’t rate Walcott, as you all know by now.

I relish these battles because I’m a neutral, a football fan, but I realise that a lot of diehard Gooners hate these games. And many Spurs fans hate them as well. They fear losing, even when the derby comes early in the season, as it does today in Game 14 of a 38-match fixture list.

My experiences of going to these games is entirely as a reporter. I never saw a derby as a fan because I never took the trouble to hunt down a ticket. But when I became a reporter I saw every Arsenal-Spurs derby, including those at Wembley.

The two games I remember best were both at White Hart Lane.

The first was the floodlit semi-final replay when David Rocastle scored to take Arsenal to Wembley, where they beat Liverpool in the 1987 League Cup Final. It was a very noisy, exciting game.

The super-cool George was buzzing afterwards but trying not to show it as he said what a winning manager has to say in these situations. I knew him well by then and could see how hyper he was. Winning gave him a final in his first season, and it gave everybody something to look forward to, and, since Liverpool were the best team in England at that time, it was a win-win at Wembley. If he lost to the top club it would be no disgrace, especially after beating Spurs in the semi. 

The other real thriller was when Arsene’s champions ripped George’s Spurs to shreds and won 3-1. Arsenal played devastatingly dynamic football that night, slicing through George’s high back line again and again. Bergkamp played out of his skin. George, who was always succinct, ruefully admitted that Arsenal had “quality on the break.”

The derby games I hated were the tame, tactical draws where George and his pal Terry Venables came in to the press conference together. I hated that because it ensured that the press conference was a 0-0 draw as well. George and Terry were smug and that annoyed me.

A 12.45 kick-off? Bring it on !The weekend starts here.

Instead of rambling backwards into distant history, I should have mentioned what I believe to be the biggest factor : the international break affects Arsenal more than other teams.

Since Wenger is a choreographer, not a tactician, his quick-passing style depends on daily rehearsals.

Midweek friendlies wreck his finely-tuned rehearsal schedule, so Friday is the only good training day he’s had. Therefore the Arsenal team could take a while to find their rhythm and dominate.