This weekend is no different especially with high expectations from fans on clubs managers after thrilling performances at UEFA Champion league games for Man City, Chelsea and Man U. for Arsenal it’s a game to convince the fans and there is no better way to do that than creating positive impact in this weekend London derby with Tottenham
Arsene Wenger Early Champions League exit would obviously be forgiven if Arsenal were to win the league, but Wenger must first earn a more immediate pardon. The crushing, humbling defeat to Bayern Munich may have caused the manager plenty of strife, but victory over Tottenham will ensure they are at least level on points with the leaders going into the international break. The vast gap in quality to Bayern will be instantly excused, if not forgotten.
Alexis Sanchez This has been an odd season for Sanchez. Having taken weeks to get going, with Wenger citing his fatigue as the issue, the Chilean finally scored his first goal on September 26 against Leicester. He then promptly scored two more, and went on a run of ten goals in six matches for club and country.
As quickly as the goals came, they have dried up again, and Sanchez is closing in on 400 minutes without one. If that statistic is of minor irritation, more worrying is that the attacker hasn’t even had a shot on target in his last four matches. That is the longest barren run of his Arsenal career.
There is no worry with Sanchez’s form while Arsenal are winning matches, and his characteristics are such that he will never be anything other than a useful addition to the first team. Yet Wenger would surely like to see his star operating in more dangerous areas. He’s created just 19 chances in 11 league games in this campaign, one every 46 minutes played – down from one every 36 minutes last season.
No better way to remind everyone of your brilliance than with a virtuoso performance in the north London derby. It’s the type of game for which Sanchez was honed.
Mathieu Debuchy and Joel Campbell After the blistering pace of Kingsley Coman, Debuchy faces a vastly different task on Sunday. Should Pochettino name the same side that beat Aston Villa, Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose will operate as a dual threat on the left wing. The Dane will tuck inside to allow his left-back to operate. The images below indicate the effectiveness of the strategy.
Jose Mourinho Forget the support of supporters at Stamford Bridge and forget a nervy victory over Dynamo Kiev too. Should Chelsea lose at Stoke this weekend they will probably be 14 points off the top four with almost a third of the season gone. It would surely be time to consider effecting the messiest exit strategy in a long, long time.
Tottenham The perfect barometer of their progress under Mauricio Pochettino, the Premier League’s quietest manager. It’s not unthinkable that Tottenham could be two points off top spot going into the international break with the youngest squad in the league. There’s something very alluring about this Spurs rise. Understated is sexy.
EPL FIXTURES FOR WEEK 12
Saturday 7 November 2015
| 12:45 |
Bournemouth v Newcastle
| Vitality Stadium | ||||
| 15:00 | Leicester v Watford | King Power Stadium | ||||
| 15:00 | Man Utd v West Brom | Old Trafford | ||||
| 15:00 | Norwich v Swansea | Carrow Road | ||||
| 15:00 | Sunderland v Southampton | Stadium of Light | ||||
| 15:00 | West Ham v Everton | Boleyn Ground | ||||
| 17:30 | Stoke v Chelsea | Britannia Stadium |
| Sunday 8 November 2015 | ||||||
| 13:30 | Aston Villa v Man City | Villa Park | ||||
| 16:00 | Arsenal v Spurs | Emirates Stadium | ||||
| 16:00 | Liverpool v Crystal Palace | Anfield | ||||
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