As Arsenal move closer to a Premier League crown, Mikel Arteta must now face a manager who is both more experienced and more successful.
Arteta’s Gunners travel to Tottenham on Sunday April 28, knowing that nothing less than a victory will be enough if they are to maintain their title ambition.
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They sit top of the Premier League, but know Manchester City have the chance to overtake them with two games in hand.
Still reeling from a Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, the north London derby will be a test of resolve for Arsenal as they head into the home stretch of the Premier League season.
A league triumph would represent a return to the top for Arsenal, who have not won a title since 2004, while it would be Arteta’s first since taking over as manager in 2019. That feeling of victory, However, is something Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou also knows. GOOD.
Trophies
Given he is relatively new to management, Arteta’s trophy haul pales in comparison to his north London counterpart.
Indeed, Postecoglou’s managerial career was both much longer and far more successful than that of his Arsenal counterpart.
He spent 28 years as a successful manager, winning 21 trophies in his seven managerial roles during that time.
His accolades include winning the Australian A-League (Australia’s equivalent of the Premier League) as well as its predecessor, the National Soccer League at Brisbane Roar and South Melbourne respectively.
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He also won international honors with the Asian Cup as Australia manager in 2015, while he earned the job at Tottenham for his work at Celtic where he won the Scottish Premiership during successive years in 2022 and 2023.
Since becoming Gunners manager in 2019, Arteta has won three trophies in five years.
The former midfielder led Arsenal to FA Cup glory in his first season in charge, before also winning the 2020 Community Shield a month later following a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Liverpool.
He wins the trophy again in 2023.
But even if his trophy haul does not match that of Postecoglou, he is the only one of the two who still has a chance of increasing his total this season.
Postecoglou hasn’t quite reached the levels of success needed to win a title in his first season with Tottenham and it remains to be seen whether his style of football will be effective enough to do so in future seasons.
“Angel Ball vs Arteta Ball”
Ange Ball has received his share of praise at times during this season with his attacking and proactive style of football which has seen particular success during the first months of the season.
But it’s also a style that has seen Spurs lack consistency.
It’s an approach that has seen them record such incongruous results that they would come away with a 4-0 win over Aston Villa a week only to slump to a 3-0 victory against Fulham a few days later.
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Instead, it was Arteta’s style that once again took Arsenal to the brink of a Premier League title.
No team has conceded fewer goals than Arsenal in the Premier League this season.
Indeed, Tottenham have conceded almost double the number of goals as their north London rivals – 49 to Arsenal’s 26.
Arteta’s style may have failed at a crucial moment in their must-win Champions League match against Bayern Munich, but the majority of his play this calendar year has been exceptional and is heading to N17 after having beaten their London rival Chelsea 5-0.
Arsenal have conceded just six goals in the Premier League since January. Tottenham have conceded 20 in the same period.
But the combination of Spurs’ unpredictability and Arsenal’s tentative success, Tottenham could just as easily find themselves on the right side of a huge scoreline as the wrong side once again.
Title race
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For the Gunners, there is now no room for error if they want to try to win the title against Manchester City, reigning champions.
They must avoid the loss of momentum that cost them the title towards the end of last season.
Despite wins over Chelsea and Wolves in their last two games, their title was damaged in their 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa and their trip to Tottenham will perhaps be an even bigger test.
Spurs may be out of the title race, but they will still have a say in who ends up lifting the trophy at the end of the season.
Arsenal are not the only title contenders they will face before the end of the season.
They also host Manchester City at home in late April and travel to Liverpool in early May, with a chance to take points from both of them.
The results of the top three against Spurs will be crucial when it comes to deciding the final Premier League table – and it is the Gunners who will be tested first.
Historically, it is Arsenal who fare better in this very competitive match and Arsenal Fanzone Supporters are more confident heading into this weekend’s north London derby, with 83 per cent of Gooners believing they will win bragging rights. Meanwhile, only 34 percent of Spurs fans think they will win.
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In the 208 previous meetings between the two teams, Arsenal have emerged victorious on 86 occasions while Tottenham have won just 67 times.
Indeed, their last meetings in the Premier League reflect these statistics well with three of their last five meetings.
The last time Spurs won all three points against the Gunners was in May 2022, when goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son gave Tottenham a decisive 3-0 victory.
Spurs will be hoping for a similar result again, especially as beating Arsenal could end up being a death blow when it comes to their title hopes.
After their meeting at the Emirates this season ended in a 2-2 draw, the second leg is shaping up to be a hard-fought match where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
