Sunderland: Starters: Fulop, Bardsley, Mensah, da Silva, McCartney, Henderson, Reid, Cana, Richardson, Henderson, Bent. Subs: Nosworthy, Healy, Zenden, Murphy, Ferdinand, Campbell, Carson.

Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Traore, Fabregas, Song, Ramsey, Rosicky, Eduardo, Nasri. Subs: Mannone, Silvestre, Arshavin, Eboue, Walcott, Denilson, Vela.

Traore starts at left-back. It’ll be interesting to watch him this game–I think I remember coming into the season Wenger saying something to the effect that he didn’t consider Traore a left-back anymore, that his defensive deficiencies made him a left winger exclusively. I’m also glad to see Ramsey in there–I thought he was still hurt from internationals, but he impressed in his previous start and earned the chance to build on that. Another good performance or two and you’d have to say he’s passed Diaby on the depth chart. Rosicky and Nasri, who are more traditional wingers than strikers, play on the forward wings, so Eduardo is our only true striker, as Arshavin and Vela both start on the bench. On the plus side, though, injuries and suspensions have forced Sunderland to field a pretty improvised lineup, too.

It’ll be a tough fixture, but we need three points here if we’re really title contenders–let’s get out there and do it. Come on Arsenal.

Position: 8th, 5-2-5 (17 points, +1 goal differential)

Recent Form: DWLDL

Home Form: 4-1-1

Last Meeting: Arsenal 0-Sunderland 0 (2/21/09)

Back in action at the Stadium of Light tomorrow, for what I expect to be a very tricky match. Seriously–this match scares the hell out of me. For one thing, it’s a road match against a top half side with a very good home record–those matches are always tough, no matter what. But throw in the fact that nearly half our first team is injured, and that everyone is already talking about next weekend’s matchup with Chelsea, and this has all the makings of an Arsenal stumble. I dearly hope I’m wrong.

Sunderland is a quality side, much improved from last season. This is due mainly to the hire of Steve Bruce as manager–Bruce did wonders at Wigan, bringing in quality bargain buys like Valencia and Palacios, as well as youngsters like Lee Cattermole, who followed the gaffer north to Sunderland. The club also gave him a bit of money to play with over the summer, and he appears to have spent it wisely–his main transfers were Darren Bent, who has already shown himself to be a bargain (honestly–compare his production with strikers who were much more costly, like Berbatov, Santa Cruz, and Pavlyuchenko); Lorik Cana, who was immediately appointed captain and has become a mainstay in their midfield; and the aforementioned Cattermole, one of the more promising young midfielders in the Premiership.

Sunderland still plays a very English brand of football–disciplined, tight at the back, and relying a lot on toughness and physicality. But they have opened up a bit under Bruce, who has brought in some skilled players and installed a little bit of an attacking mentality in the club, which is in stark contrast to the way Sunderland played under Roy Keane and Ricky Sbragia the last couple of seasons. And even then, they managed a draw in both their games against us last season.

You wouldn’t necessarily characterize Sunderland as an explosive team per se, but they do have two quality strikers who complement each other well in Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones, who have combined for 13 goals this season. Their midfield is full of battlers like Steed Malbranque and Lorik Cana, and their backline is anchored by Anton Ferdinand and Michael Turner. We catch a little bit of a break tomorrow, though, as starting keeper Craig Gordon and Cattermole are both out injured, and Kenwyne Jones and Turner are both out on suspensions–in particular, Jones is exactly the kind of bruising physical striker that has given us problems in the past, too.

Their home record is very good–they’ve only lost once, to Chelsea, in 6 matches at the Stadium of Light. In their two best results of the season, they beat Liverpool at home and drew at Old Trafford in a match they very easily could have won. I watched that match in its entirety, and I can definitively say that this is a team that will make us pay if we expect to just show up and win. That happened with alarming frequency last season, but with the exception of the West Ham game, we’ve so far been able to avoid that pitfall this season. But hopefully the team isn’t suffering from too much of an international hangover and comes out focused and motivated.

In squad news, obviously the injuries are a big concern. van Persie is out for a while, and while Gibbs’s injury is apparently minor and he may be able to play on Tuesday against Standard Liege, he is out tomorrow. In better news, Theo Walcott is back in the squad–I still doubt he’ll start, but don’t be surprised to see him come on as a late substitute. Denilson, Traore, Wilshere, and Vela are also supposedly going to be available, although I don’t see any of them starting unless Wenger is really convinced that they are match fit–the midweek Champions League fixture would be a much better chance for them all to get a run out. It will also be interesting to see how those who played full matches on Wednesday fare. Fabregas and Arshavin played the entire match, as did Eboue, and Sagna and Gallas both played a full 120 minutes against Ireland. I’m sure there’s others I’m forgetting, too. For example, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sagna get a breather this game.

Lineup:

Almunia

Eboue-Gallas-Vermaelen-Silvestre

Fabregas-Song-Nasri

Rosicky-Eduardo-Arshavin

(UPDATE: So it sounds like Wenger is thinking that Vela will start, and that Arshavin may not play because of the fatigue from internationals. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect in terms of a starting XI tomorrow.)

But given those tired from internationals and those returning from injuries, it wouldn’t surprise me if our lineup was significantly different from that. Between injuries and fatigue, the Emirates is basically a field hospital right now, and Wenger’s just going to have to check with the players and trainers on an individual basis to see who’s really ready to play.

This is a tough match, and given all the surrounding circumstances (injuries, internationals, etc.), it’s the kind of match that last year’s club would have either lost or drawn. But these are exactly the kind of matches a team has to be able to win if it’s a serious title contender. Tomorrow could reveal a lot about what kind of team this Arsenal squad is. A win keeps us clear of United and keeps the pressure on Chelsea going into the the showdown at the Emirates a week from Sunday. Let’s get those 3 points.

Come on Arsenal.

Wolves strategy was pretty obvious, and wasn’t a bad one as far as these things go. They came out and played like the game was only 20 minutes long–they were sprinting from station to station, aggressively closing down Arsenal whenever the Gunners had the ball, and generally did well in putting the Gunners on the back foot. It was akin to a boxing match where the underdog comes out swinging extra hard, knowing that his only real hope of winning is to knock out the champ in the first few rounds. Their hope must have been to try to grab a quick goal or two early, and then park the bus in front of their own goal for the remainder of the match. Wolves played well, and were certainly the better team in the first 20 minutes, creating the first several scoring chances.

But they never really got a quality shot on goal in the first spell, and by the middle of the first half they were clearly tired and had to dial down the energy and intensity. You could definitely feel the tide of the game turning, and Arsenal opened our account off a corner in the 28th minute when Wolves defender Ronald Zubar was so preoccupied with keeping Eduardo away from the ball that he didn’t notice the ball deflect off his leg into the goal.

It wasn’t too much longer before we doubled our lead–Ramsey played Eduardo into a one-on-one, and, instead of passing the ball back to Ramsey, who would have been through onto goal, Eduardo decided to shoot off-target. Which would have been bad had it not been for Wolves defender Jody Craddock, who deflected it back onto target past keeper Wayne Hennessey. It was kind of a funny moment, actually–Ramsey was arguing with Eduardo about not giving him the ball back as the ball was actually going into the net.

Then we grabbed a wonderful goal right before the break when van Persie put Cesc through on goal with a superb pass, and Cesc coolly finished to make it 3-0 Arsenal. And that was basically the game. We came out after the break and absolutely dominated possession, it looked like we were toying with Wolves. In the 66th minute, Hennessey could only punch out a corner kick, and he violated a rule every pee-wee keeper is taught–if you’re going to punch it out, punch it to one side or the other, not the middle. But he punched it out to the middle, and Arshavin reacted quickly to get to it and poach it into the corner of the net.

Of course, this being Arsenal, we couldn’t have a clean sheet, and gave up a soft goal on a corner very late in the game when Craddock, completely unmarked, got his head to a corner kick and headed it nicely past Almunia. And that was it–4-1 Arsenal, an away win, and into 2nd place for at least a day. Abou Diaby had to leave the match in the 24th minute with what looked like an ankle injury, so we’ll have to wait and see how serious it is.

The biggest storyline, for me, though, was how good Aaron Ramsey looked in his first league start–you can tell he’s inexperienced, and he made his share of mistakes, but he was by far our most energetic player, and it seemed like he was everywhere. He made a clear statement, and that statement was “I’m ready to play and I’m ready to play now.” We famously won a bidding war with Manchester United for his services before last season, and I have to think that Alex Ferguson is banging his head against a table after watching this match, especially since United haven’t had much luck with midfielders under the age of 50 lately. If Ramsey can keep up that level of energy and intensity, he should be playing ahead of Diaby, no doubt about it.

On to the ratings:

Almunia 7. Rarely troubled, not at fault on the goal, and did well getting out and controlling his area on corner kicks.

Sagna 8. Co-Man of the Match. Maybe his best performance of the year–controlled his flank on defense, got forward on the attack. If this is how he responds to competition, maybe he should be benched for Eboue more often?

Gibbs 7.Another quality performance from the youngster.

Vermaelen 6.5. Not a bad game, but why in the hell was he ducking after losing his man and allowing him to get his head on the corner? If you lose your man and see him getting a shot away, the least you can do is try to get up and stop it…

Gallas 7. Solid performance. Looked like he picked up some kind of foot injury late in the match, but he finished the match, so hopefully there’s not too much to it.

Ramsey 8. Co-Man of the Match. Popped up everywhere, and made a case for future inclusion in the first-team. I remember watching him last season and wondering why Wenger paid so much money for the kid. I am no longer wondering that.

Diaby 6.5. Looked pretty average before he was subbed out. Hopefully he’s okay, although it has to be said that the team looked stronger after Song came on for him.

Cesc 8. It’s a measure of just how good of a player he’s become that he scores a goal, distributes the ball around and generally orchestrates the offense, and we chalk it up as an average performance by him. Also, how much do you love this guy? After he scored, he immediately deflected the attention to Robin van Persie, who really made the play which set up the goal. Classy, classy, classy–honestly, the day he leaves Arsenal is going to crush me. I hope it doesn’t happen for a long, long time.

Eduardo 8. He didn’t score a goal, but it was his presence and pressure which forced the two own goals. Was very active and moved very well the entire match, and also made his case for a regular place in the first 11.

Arshavin 8. Was a menace to Wolves the whole match, and his goal was one of those goals that looks unspectacular, but is actually very, very difficult. First, to react as quickly and instinctively as he did is a mark of a great player, and then to redirect the ball into the corner on the first touch is much, much harder than it looks.

van Persie 7.5. For the second consecutive match, failed to score but was still instrumental in the Arsenal attack, especially on the third goal.

Song 7.5. Okay, I realize that part of it was due to the fact that Wolves was playing with so much energy and intensity early. But honestly, if you were to do a comparison of possession and scoring opportunities before and after Song came on for Diaby, I think it would be shocking. He came in, and seemingly instantaneously we were blunting Wolves’ attack, controlling the midfield, and creating opportunities at the other end.

Nasri 6.5. Made a bit of an impact in his brief cameo.

Rosicky 6.5. Good in limited action–had a very good chance he should have done better with.

Any of four or five players could have won the (very prestigious) Man of the Match award, but I decided to give it to Sagna and Ramsey, because I don’t believe either of have gotten it yet this year, and both really did have superb games.

Anyway, that’s it in terms of Arsenal for two long weeks. We’re back in action two weeks from today against Sunderland on the road, which will be a tricky match. The two weeks off will hopefully give the guys on our injury list some extra time to get healthy again, and with a lot of international teams only playing friendlies, maybe some of our guys will manage to stay healthy through the break.

I’ll post a good highlights video when I find one, and will post with any news should any occur. Enjoy the rest of your weekends.

Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Ramsey, Diaby, Arshavin, Fabregas, Eduardo, van Persie. Subs: Mannone, Senderos, Rosicky, Nasri, Song, Silvestre, Eboue

Wolves: Starters: Hennessey, Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Stearman, Edwards, Henry, Castillo, Milijas, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: Hahnemann, Kightly, Keogh, Halford, Jarvis, Mancienne, Maierhofer

Interesting that Song starts on the bench in favor of Ramsey. Ramsey is more skilled than Song, but not nearly the defensive presence. Arsene is either (a) just going all out on the attack today, banking on the fact that Wolves probably aren’t going to be able to keep up with it; or (b) just trying to prepare for January, when we’re going to be without Song, to see if Ramsey is a possible replacement for the month. I like Ramsey, but I have to say I’m skeptical about this–as I mentioned in the preview yesterday, we’ve been prone to giving up goals away from home, and Wolves will have some chances. I’d feel better having Song there to win and keep the ball in midfield. But we’ll see. Also noteworthy is Eduardo starting on the frontline.

None of the Big 4 clubs were in action this morning, but the other three members of “The Magnificent 7″ were active–Spurs and Villa both won, but Manchester City lost focus and gave up a late equalizer at home to Burnley. All three are now within 2 points of us, although we have a game in hand on Manchester City and two games in hand on Spurs and Villa. Let’s get out there and get those 3 points to put some more separation between us and them, and we can sit back and watch the Chelsea-ManU carnage tomorrow.

Also, not to get too preachy or serious, but it is worth reflecting for a moment on the meaning behind the poppies on Premiership clubs’ shirts today. They honor the soldiers who served in World War I, which was in many ways the bloodiest, most brutal war in history. Over 1 million men died at the battle of the Somme alone, over 8 million soldiers died in the conflict, and over 7 million more were permanently disabled. Many European countries lost 10-20% of their adult male populations. While the poppies are specifically intended to honor the British war veterans, we should remember all who died or served for the Allied Powers, who sacrificed so much to put an end to the age of imperialism and set the stage for the modern era of democracy and self-government. Okay, back to football.

Come on Arsenal.

Position: 17th, 2-4-5 (10 points, -7 goal differential)

Recent Form: LLDDD

Home Form: 1-2-2

Away to the midlands tomorrow to face Wolves at the Molineaux. Wolves are a solid side–I picked them to stay up this season, and I actually hope they do. They play much more entertaining football than sides like Brum, Hull, Blackburn, Bolton, Stoke, etc., and I’d hate to see another West Brom situation, because it would send a clear message that the way to avoid relegation is by playing tight at the back, hoofing the ball upfield, and kicking the opposition up in the air whenever they have the ball. I think this is already happened in the Premiership to some degree, and it really does make more much less entertaining viewing. So aside from tomorrow’s match and the fixture at the Emirates, I wish Wolves all the best.

But the fact is that they are a much inferior club to Arsenal, and there is no excuse for not winning this match. While Wolves have had some decent results at home (beating Fulham, drawing with Aston Villa), there is a substantial gulf in class between the two sides, and if we play our game they will be overmatched.

Arsene Wenger came out and said this was a very important match to win, because the Manchester United-Chelsea match is an opportunity to pick up points on at least one of those clubs. And he is, of course, right. A win tomorrow puts us very, very close to the top of the table. I think that in order to win the league, you have to do the following three things: (1) win almost every match against non-top 4 opposition at home; (2) win almost every match against mid-table and below clubs away; and (3) fare relatively well against top 4 opposition at home and top half of the table clubs away. Last season, we did very well at (3), but were unable to do (1) (losses at home to Hull and Aston Villa, draws with Spurs, West Ham, Sunderland, and Fulham) (2) (losing away to Stoke, draws with Spurs and Boro).

In our 6 league matches against fellow Big 4 opposition, we went 2-3-1, for 9 points. This was more than Manchester United (5 pts.) and Chelsea (4 pts.). But those clubs both finished well above us in the table, because they consistently beat all comers at home and played very well away. I think it was a matter of focus–at times, especially in the first half of the season, we seemed to go into games assuming we were going to win, and were punished for it. If you want to win the league, you’ve got to come into every fixture prepared and focused, and we didn’t do that last season. So far this season, with the exception of the last 20 minutes of the West Ham match, we’ve done this, but matches like the one tomorrow will really tell us a lot about how legitimate our title chances are.

They’ve been pretty tight at the back at home, only surrendering 6 goals in their 5 matches at home, and Arsenal has been prone to giving up goals in bunches away from the Emirates (9 in 5 matches), so don’t be surprised if this turns into a closer match than many expect. Wolves have two solid strikers in Kevin Doyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, and are capable of putting the ball into the net, so Gallas, Vermaelen, and Song will need to have good games.

The team news for us is good news in that there is no news–no new injuries picked up in Wednesday’s Champions League fixture against AZ. If we can make it through this match without picking up any knocks, we’ll be bolstered by the returns of Walcott and Rosicky, with Denilson and Clichy hopefully not too far behind them. Lineup:

Almunia

Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Gibbs

Diaby-Song-Fabregas

Nasri-van Persie-Arshavin

I suspect that’s what we’ll see, although it wouldn’t surprise if Eduardo started up front instead of Nasri, either. I suspect Eboue, Rosicky, and Ramsey could also see some action as well. It’s a strong lineup, and should be enough to see Wolves off.

Also, if you’ve got a few minutes, Tom Adams wrote a very, very good piece on Patrick Vieira and his importance to Arsenal FC over at ESPN Soccernet–I highly recommend checking it out. He says it better and in more detail than I will here, but Vieira really is an Arsenal legend (named by the fans as the 5th greatest Gunner of all time in the official site’s poll a few years back), and was really probably more important than anyone not named Thierry Henry in the successful Arsenal clubs of the late 90s and early 2000s–he gave the club a steel and a toughness that we have not been able to replace since he left. He was left out of the France squad for their upcoming playoff tie against the Republic of Ireland, and his international career could well be over.

Anyway, that’s about it. A win picks up ground on either Chelsea or United, if not both, and sends us into the international break with momentum on our side, which we’ll need since we square off with Chelsea on November 21. Have great weekends.

Come on Arsenal.

For most of the first half, the game was pretty even, even though we were definitely creating more opportunities. Then, in the span of less than a minute, we broke the game wide open. In the 42nd minute, Sagna put a superb ball into the box that Robbie did very, very well to get a foot on and direct it through Gomes’s arms. It happened really fast, but in all honesty, it’s one of those goals that was much more difficult than it appeared–it may not make a lot of highlight reels, but make no mistake, it was a world-class finish by a world-class striker. Then, off the ensuing kick-off, Spurs lost possession and Cesc got the ball in the middle of the field, and then just…well, I don’t even know how to describe it. It was like one of Pele’s goals from “Victory.” He just ran straight through Spurs’ entire defense, got into the box, and put a fine finish past Gomes. All of a sudden it was 2-0 Arsenal, and stayed that way into the half.

In the second half, instead of getting overly tentative and defensive, we kept winning the ball and keeping possession. While we may not have been pushing forward for a goal, we were at least holding the ball and moving the ball forward, which was definitely in contrast to how we’ve been playing while ahead recently. Then, in the 60th minute, we finished the game off with a crazy goal. We had the ball, there was an obvious foul, and almost everybody on both teams stopped playing. The only problem is that the loose ball had gone to Sagna, so the referee called for a continuation. Once Sagna realized what was happening, he put a ball into the box, and it took a deflection directly onto van Persie’s foot, and he put it into the net. It was then 3-0 Arsenal, and we looked comfortable after that.

Beating Spurs is always important for the club. Beating a 4th place club is also always important. But in terms of this match specifically, this was important for a couple of reasons. First, we had just had two successive draws, against West Ham and AZ, and needed a response. It has also been one of Arsenal’s dirty little secrets this season that we have been conceding too many goals–we are currently tied for 8th in goals allowed, behind Manchester City, Aston Villa, Stoke, Birmingham and Fulham. We’ve scored so many goals that this has been overlooked, but in the big games against quality teams, we need to tighten up at the back. But aside from Manchester United and maybe Manchester City, Spurs have more attacking quality than any team we’ve played so far. So keeping a clean sheet makes a big statement. Not only that, but the way we did it–Spurs only got 4 shots on goal, and frankly, very few of them really forced Almunia into making a difficult save. Hopefully our backline can build on this going forward.

Almunia 6.5. Didn’t really have much to do. Looked a little tentative early, but settled in as the game went on. I think he did enough to at least keep his place for next week.

Sagna 8. Two weeks in a row he’s put good balls into the box. Good in defending his space, and two assists on good balls in on both of van Persie’s goals. Great performance.

Clichy 6.5.Solid performance from Clichy today, but does seem to be suffering from a crisis of confidence–several times he jumped into passing lanes to cut out Spurs attacks and start Arsenal counter-attacks. But needs to be a little more decisive in the final third.

Vermaelen 7.5. Concentrated on preventing Spurs from getting anything going on, and did so very effectively. Was charged with marking Crouch, who’s always tough to defend, but did his job very well.

Gallas 7. Had a few sloppy moments, most notably a handball which gave away a free kick just outside the box, but generally very solid.

Song 7.5. Great bounceback performance from Song. Generally good at winning and keeping possession. Arsenal had the majority of possession in the match, and that was down to Song’s performance more than anyone.

Diaby 6. No major mistakes, but pretty ineffective.

Cesc 8.5. Co-Man of the Match. Generally played very well despite squaring off against a very good holding midfielder in Palacios, and scored Arsenal’s goal of the season in netting the second goal with a superb solo effort.

Bendtner 5. Re-injured his groin early and had to be substituted, but looked very, very poor before that. Appears to have taken a step back from last season.

Arshavin 7. Made a few useful runs, and his aggressiveness kept Spurs defenders back a little bit, which may have opened up space for other Arsenal players, but never found a way through to goal himself.

van Persie 8.5. Co-Man of the Match. As I said above, both of those goals, the first one especially, are those kind of goals which look easy but are actually pretty difficult and take a lot of skill and concentration. 7 goals in 10 league games this season.

Eduardo 6. Played decently, but isn’t he supposed to be our “fox in the box?” He blew 2 easy, easy chances, which he should have done better with.

Eboue 6. Decent substitute performance, including a sublime through ball for Eduardo.

Wenger’s Tie 7 Solid. He seems to be sticking with the same tie now for league fixtures.

Ramsey came on very late.

All in all, a first-class performance by us. It looks like Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Sunderland could very well drop points today, so we continue to open up some space at the top of the table. I know it’s still early, but it looks like three horses have broken away from the pack, and we’re one of those horses. Hopefully we can keep it up.

We’ve got AZ on Wednesday, and a win there would basically punch our ticket to the group stages. Then it’s away to Wolves on Saturday, in a game we really should take 3 points from, before the international break.

Also, the Carling Cup draw took place, and we’ll play Manchester City at Eastlands. That’s a pretty tough draw, but will really give our second team a chance to prove themselves against top-quality opposition, including Toure and Adebayor. It sure would be nice to get a win there and make it to the two-leg semifinal, but it might be a tall order.

That’s it–have good weekends.

Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Diaby, Song, Fabregas, Bendtner, van Persie, Arshavin. Subs: Senderos, Eduardo, Eboue, Nasri, Mannone, Ramsey, Gibbs.

Spurs: Starters: Gomes, Corluka, King, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Bentley, Huddleston, Palacios, Jenas, Crouch, Keane. Subs: Woodgate, Dawson, Kranjcar, Hutton, Pavlyuchenko, Bale, Button.

Come on Arsenal.

Position: 4th, 6-1-3 (19 points, +7 goal differential)

Recent Form: LWDWL

Away Form: 3-1-1

Last Meeting: Tottenham 0-Arsenal 0 (2/8/09)

It’s here. The North London derby.

This is a bit of a strange admission, and may result in a loss of credibility, but so be it. But I think it’s hard for us Arsenal fans who are not from England, and specifically not from London, to understand the importance of this match.

This is because it’s rooted not so much in the actual competitions in which the clubs play, but in the fact that the two clubs are so close to one another and compete locally for media attention and the hearts and minds of those that live near the club. After all, if the goal of a football club is to win trophies, then our biggest rivalry should be with the other clubs that are competing to win trophies, right? And that would be Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and now Manchester City before Tottenham.

But there’s just something much stronger at play here. We all are aware of local rivalries where we live, and that’s probably the best way for someone not from England or London to really understand these derby games. For example, I am, unfortunately, a lifelong New York Mets fan. I now live in New York, and had to witness the Mets’ atrocious season while the Yankees spent their way to glory, their frontrunning fans bragging all the while. The Mets nightmare season continued when the two teams I hate the most as a Met fan, the Yankees and the Phillies, made the World Series. One of these teams will be world champions, and it makes me physicall ill.

But now, which team do I hate the most? Is it the Phillies, our division rivals whom we play 12 times per year and compete with head-to-head for a playoff slot? Not for me. It’s the Yankees, our crosstown rivals. And I suspect most Mets fans probably feel the same way.

Why? Because they’re the smug jerks we have to ride the subway with and work alongside every day, with their sanctimonious nonsense about who is and is not a “true Yankee” and the “Yankee way.” I was coming home late on Wednesday night, and rode the subway with a whole passel of sad Yankees fans, riding the subway back from their p.o.s. $1 billion stadium which is already crumbling after spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars to watch their team lose. And I’m almost ashamed of how happy it made me, riding the subway and looking at their forlorn faces. I think it’s the kind of thing it’s a bit hard to understand if you haven’t spent much time in the NYC area, just as truly understanding the passion of the North London derby is a bit hard to really understand if you haven’t spent much time there. It’s not that we don’t intensely dislike Spurs, but that we can’t truly understand the full extent of the rivalry from afar, because the root of the rivalry itself is grounded not in the matches themselves, but in the local atmosphere and culture.

Okay, enough about baseball. For Spurs, Jermain Defoe, Spurs leading scorer on the season, is out with a suspension (stay classy, Jermain). Aaron Lennon will also likely miss the game with an ankle injury, while Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King will face late fitness tests to see if they can play. Luka Modric is out with a longterm injury.

For Arsenal, Rosicky, Djourou, Denilson, Walcott, and Fabianski are still out. Nasri looks set to make his first league appearance, although my sense is that he probably won’t start the game, since he’s still trying to build up fitness. That really leaves only two main lineup questions for us–goalkeeper and third forward. Arsene came out and said that he has decided on a goalie, but he’s not going to reveal it until lineups are submitted tomorrow. Fine, Arsene, be that way, but guess what? I’ve got a secret, too, and I’m not going to tell you about it. Hmph.

Second, who will start as the right forward? Bendtner and Eduardo are both healthy, and Wenger has deployed Eboue there on occasion as well. Aside from the goal, Bendtner was apparently pretty bad on Wednesday, and I think it’s really time we start wondering whether Eduardo’s injury hasn’t robbed him of so much pace that he may never be the first-team striker he could have been. Even though it’s not his natural position, then, I’ll guess Eboue gets the call.

Mannone

Sagna-Gallas-Vermaelen-Clichy

Diaby-Song-Fabregas

Eboue-van Persie-Arshavin

This is a rivalry game, and after last season, we have a score to settle. You’ll no doubt remember that in the corresponding fixture last autumn we were up 4-2 in the 89th minute only to fall apart and end up with a 4-4 draw. It was as shocking and demoralizing as just about anything I’ve seen as an Arsenal fan, and must not be repeated. Spurs are off to a good start, currently sitting 4th in the table. At the outset of the season, I did predict them to finish 5th this season, ahead of Manchester City, and I think they really are a very good side.

They’ll miss Defoe, but still have Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch, both of whom have had success against Arsenal in the past. Robbie Keane has been shooting his mouth off all week about how Spurs are better than Arsenal this season. Most players with an ounce of good sense wouldn’t be jabbering about how they were better than any club after they had just lost at home to frakking Stoke City, but that’s Robbie. He always seems to score against us, too, which makes him doubly annoying. I have to admit I wouldn’t be too sad if Vermaelen were to dump him on his ass a few times tomorrow.

Tottenham’s real problem, though, is that they have struggled without Modric. The little Croatian maestro has settled in as one of the Premiership’s most dynamic playmaking midfielders, and was really pulling the strings at Spurs before his injury. Just as Cesc is the “rudder of Arsenal,” Luka was the “rudder of Spurs.” But they’ve really struggled to create chances without him. Just look at a quick breakdown of their 10 fixtures so far:

With Modric: 4 matches, 4-0-0, 12 points, 11 goals scored, 4 conceded

Without Modric: 6 matches, 2-1-3, 7 points, 10 goals scored, 10 conceded

Tom Huddlestone’s a decent young player, but he’s not nearly at Modric’s level yet and isn’t quite capable of bearing the playmaker burden (not unlike Denilson for us last season). Their other option in the center of the field is Jermaine Jenas, who can be quite inconsistent.

They’re a dangerous club capable of really brilliant football on their day, and have more skill than any club outside of the top 4 or Manchester City. They will get forward and attack, and the center backs and especially Alex Song will need to bring their best games tomorrow to stymie Spurs moves forward. While Lennon being out is a help, Spurs are also very dangerous down the flanks, so Sagna and Clichy need to be careful about getting too far forward, because if they can’t get back and cover their positions, Spurs are pretty dangerous when they can bomb it into the box.

For us, I think we’ll be able to get forward and create some chances, but we’ve got to make the most out of them and finish. Poor finishing and a lack of killer instinct have cost us dearly lately (AZ, West Ham), and Spurs are a good enough team to make us pay if we’re wasteful. Spurs may especially be vulnerable if Woodgate and King are both out, as that leaves them with a real lack of quality along the backline.

The key man for Spurs may well be Wilson Palacios, who will be tasked with shielding the backline and cutting out Arsenal attacks. He’ll be looking to keep Cesc quiet all day, which will be difficult on Fabregas’s current form. Palacios shut Arsenal down in the second fixture between the two clubs last season, and was man of the match, but that was a team without Cesc and Arshavin, in a game in which Arsenal played the entire second half with ten men due to Eboue’s stupid, stupid, second yellow card.

Tomorrow needs to be different. Aside from the rivalry implications, it’s an incredibly important fixture. A win would keep us in the top 3, and with Liverpool and Aston Villa both facing very tricky fixtures, could put some distance between us and some of the teams chasing us. On the other hand, a loss could dump us from third to potentially all the way down to 8th, and really strengthen Spurs’ Top 4 candidacy. It’s a crucial match, let’s go out there and get those 3 points.

Come on Arsenal.

Oof. This one stings. Remember when I said that the midweek draw against AZ would be a good thing because it would teach players a lesson about taking other teams seriously and finishing off games? I guess now it’s fair to say that the team did not learn either of those lessons. We had this game in hand, and then we let up, got sloppy, and dropped 2 points as a consequence. It doesn’t get much more frustrating than this.

We started well early when Sagna put a perfect ball into the box (I know, I was surprised, too), West Ham keeper Green only got fingertips to it, and van Persie just had to put the ball into an open net. We continued to dictate play in the first half, and when Gallas got a firm head on a header in the 37th minute. 2-0 Arsenal, which was the score at halftime. We seemed to be well on our way. We look pretty strong after the break, but couldn’t find a third goal. And then, in the 74th minute, Mannone couldn’t hang onto a free kick into the box, and he parried it directly onto the head of Carlton Cole, who put it into the net. Then, just a few minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty when Song was (harshly, it has to be said) adjudged to have tripped Cole in the box. Diamanti buried the penalty, and suddenly it was 2-2. Despite Scott Parker being sent off and the introduction of Bendtner and Eduardo, Arsenal couldn’t find a way through, and we let two points slip through our fingers.

I don’t want to phrase anything too strongly so soon after the game, but the bottom line is that championship clubs don’t blow 2-0 leads to inferior clubs. This was a problem for us last season, and after the first two games, you’d have to say it appears to be a problem this season as well. We either have a lack of leadership or a lack of mental focus (or both), but we’ve got to develop a little bit more of a killer instinct when we’re in these situations. Instead of getting hungry for the win and finishing off the game, we consistently let our foot off the gas pedal, and it has cost us on numerous occasions now.

On to the ratings:

Mannone 5.5. Bad game for the Godfather–his tenure as #1 keeper may be at an end. Nothing he could have done about the penalty, but should have held the free kick on the first goal–instead, he deflected it directly to Carlton Cole.

Sagna 7.5. Excuse me, waiter? This crow is a little overcooked. As much stick as I’ve given Sagna for how bad his crosses into the box have been, it’s only fair that I give him credit for his perfect ball into the box for the first goal.

Clichy 6.5.Got forward a fair amount, but never really put West Ham in much danger from the left.

Vermaelen 6.5. Pretty quiet game for TV5.

Gallas 7.5. Got up and headed the ball brilliantly for the second goal, and generally defended well, although he was a bit sloppy on a tackle in the box on Scott Parker, which could have been a penalty.

Song 5. Decent performance up until the penalty. You can argue that it shouldn’t have been given (and you’d be right), but the bottom line is that up a goal that late in the game you have to be careful not to even give the appearance of an illegal tackle in the box.

Diaby 5.5. Completely ineffective.

Cesc 6.5. Made a few good passes and had a brilliant shot which just missed, but could have been better.

Eboue 5.5. Reverted to the Eboue of last season. Wasteful in possession, sloppy in defense.

Arshavin 6. Popped up here and there, but didn’t create chances like he should be doing. Has to do better if Arsenal are to compete for trophies.

van Persie 8. Man of the match. Coolly took the first goal, assisted on the second, and could have had another goal late but for a brilliant save by Green.

Bendtner 6. Looked up for it, but couldn’t really make an impact. Also, it was weird to me that he seemed to be playing on the left wing, but maybe he was just coming too far back.

Eduardo came on, but it was too late to fairly rate him.

Wenger’s Tie 6.5 Solid.

Well, that’s it. We should have won, but we didn’t. We’re up to third place, with a game in hand, but this is one of those games where you just get the sinking feeling we’d really like to have those two points late in the season. But what’s done is done, and we’ve got to look forward. The youngsters square off against Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, and then the first-team is back in action in the North London derby against Spurs on Saturday. One can only hope we have now finally learned a lesson and will make sure not to blow three late leads in a row.

Arsenal: Starters: Mannone, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy, Fabregas, Song, Diaby, Eboue, van Persie, Arshavin. Bench: Almunia, Eduardo, Nasri, Ramsey, Silvestre, Gibbs, Bendtner.

West Ham: Starters: Green, Spector, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Behrami, Parker, Noble, Collison, Cole, Franco. Bench: Kurucz, Kovac, Faubert, Da Costa, Diamanti, Hines, Stanislas.

A couple of things worth noting. First, Mannone is, for the moment, our first-choice keeper. As I’ve said, I think this is the wrong move if Almunia is fit, but I hope he repays Wenger’s faith by keeping up his recent run of good form. Elsewhere, it’s a good sign that Wenger feels comfortable enough with the health of the players to put most of them in the first-team–Eduardo, Nasri, and Bendtner are all back in the squad, although all are on the bench. It’s hard for me to really see a scenario absent injury where Nasri or Bendtner gets on the pitch today. Could be a tough match-up, but with Sunderland and Spurs losing and Villa picking up a draw, it’s a great chance to pull away from the mid-table teams. And, of course, with Manchester United losing, it’s a great chance to close in on the top. A win today would put us 3 points behind Chelsea and 2 behind United, with the home game against Bolton in hand, and goal differential superiority to both squads. So there’s that.

Hopefully the disappointment against AZ mid-week will light a fire under the players about the dangers of taking opponents lightly and the importance of finishing games off. I can’t quite explain it, but I’ve got a feeling this is going to turn into a really tough fixture, and it may take everything we’ve got for 3 points today.

Come on Arsenal.