3 Things We Learned From Tottenham Vs Arsenal: The Gunners Still Have What It Takes

Arsenal still have what it takes

Arsenal proved that they still have what it takes to hold their own in what promises to be a thrilling four-way race for the Premier League title. It’s natural for neutral fans to expect Arsenal to be out of the title race if the recent seasons are taken into account and the fact that they have a tough run of fixtures in February and March this season, but with half of March already gone, they are still in with a shot.

The North London derby was always expected to be a tough game following a difficult trip to Munich in midweek. However, they did put in a good performance at the Allianz Arena and they made light of the Spurs challenge to stay within a touching distance of league leaders Chelsea. If they manage to eke out a win against the Blues, they might still have a chance of winning it.

Spurs need a change

Despite spending the entire “Bale amount” in the summer, the current Tottenham side looks far from a finished article. Under Tim Sherwood, Spurs look like a side bereft of ideas. While Sherwood could hardly blame his players for lack of trying last night, the outcome hardly matches the effort.

Spurs have quality players in their team, which with the proper guidance can blossom, but given the lack of confidence of the players, the team play is suffering. For all the effort that Spurs put in last night, pressing, harrying and working their socks off, the final product was missing.

Arsenal need a quality striker

Arsenal have a wonderful midfield which is capable of giving any top side a run for their money as they proved against Bayern last week. Against Spurs too, they created plenty of chances and dominated the game with Tomas Rosicky scoring a blinder. However their striking woes are letting them down.

Arsenal need sign a clinical striker in the summer who will finish off the chances that their midfield is good at creating. That might be the difference between the current Arsenal side struggling for consistency and potential Premier League champions. The fact that Olivier Giroud is trying to use his weapon, AKA “Hold Up Play” far too much for ones liking, the Premier League defenders have completely read his game. The French International despite having scored a decent number of goals this season, will never be a threat to defenders unless he runs at them and gets in few shots rather than turning his back towards the opposition goal and trying to bring others into play. Arsenal simply cannot score goals with Giroud upfront and the need for a new clinical striker increases with each passing week.