Arsenal and Tottenham bring new element to this North London derby: rugged resilience

Richard Jolly writes that, while goals have come aplenty have been an enduring trait of Arsenal v Spurs affairs, Sunday's contest could be characterised more by both sides' newfound defensive solidity.

Laurent Koscielny, left, and Arsenal are second, on 25 points. Toby Alderweireld and Spurs are fifth, on 20. (Photos: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images and Mike Hewitt / Getty Images)

It has tended to be a dramatic derby. The scorelines alone give a sense of that: 4-5, 4-4, 5-1, 1-4, 3-3, 2-3 and 5-2, not once but twice. When Arsenal meet Tottenham Hotspur, goals have seemed guaranteed. There have been 105 in the last 11 years alone. Stalemates, like Spurs wins at the Emirates Stadium, have been rarities.

The North London derby has rivalled its Mancunian counterpart for the unofficial title of the Premier League's most entertaining game. And yet, barely two weeks after Manchester United and Manchester City ground out a 0-0 draw, could another action-packed series be set for a drabber sequel?

Because, had Jordan Ayew’s shot for Aston Villa not taken a sizeable deflection off Jan Vertonghen to beat Hugo Lloris on Monday, neighbours would enter Sunday’s clash as equals, with a share of the division’s best defensive record.

Arsenal may have been thrashed 5-1 by Bayern Munich on Wednesday, leading Arsene Wenger to say “defensively I didn’t recognise my team”, but a schizophrenic side have been solid against English opposition.

Teams long accused of having a soft underbelly now seem more resilient. Tottenham’s transformation is more dramatic. They conceded more goals than relegated Hull last season. “We need to improve a lot in our defensive situation,” manager Mauricio Pochettino said in May. He responded by recruiting Toby Alderweireld, who helped Southampton concede less than a goal a game.

The Belgian has been a catalyst. “We have a good solidity,” he told NBC this week. “We’ve had a lot of difficult games where we have stood our ground.” As they are on the division’s longest unbeaten run, of 10 games, that brooks no debate.

If Spurs’ improvement can be traced back to Germinal Beerschot, where both Alderweireld and Vertonghen were schooled, there is a twist. They are Belgium teammates, but they tend to play as full-backs for their country. They have formed a balanced central-defensive partnership for their club.

Each club have built around a core four in their defensive structure. Vertonghen and Alderweireld and shielded by Eric Dier, converted from a defender to a defensive midfielder. They, in turn, protect goalkeeper Lloris.

Their Arsenal counterparts constitute a defensive diamond with Petr Cech at the base, Francis Coquelin the tip and Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker in between. The oft-heard comments about Arsenal were that they needed to buy a goalkeeper, a centre-back and a defensive midfielder. They still lack cover for the combative Coquelin, but they unearthed an influential holding player. They bought Cech who, after his opening-day errors against West Ham United, has afforded a level of reliability too few of his predecessors have offered. His stature is such that, if he stops Spurs from scoring, he will equal David James’s divisional record of 169 clean sheets.

The underrated Koscielny has a claim to be the Premier League’s outstanding defender – the rejuvenated Vincent Kompany is another contender – and the happy habit of forming successful partnerships. It is no coincidence that the shellacking in Munich came in his absence.

His regular sidekick, Mertesacker, is famously short of pace but structure can camouflage individual shortcomings and it has proved less of an impediment as Arsenal have only conceded 19 goals in their last 29 top-flight games.

“We are a bit more stable defensively,” Wenger said last week. “We have maybe a better discipline. People reproached us many times [in the past]: ‘OK, Arsenal play football but they are a bit fragile.’”

That mentality was apparent in Munich but has only really been glimpsed in the Uefa Champions League. The Premier League side has married purist principles with more commitment and coherence.

While Santi Cazorla tops the division’s passing statistics, the greater surprise may be that Arsenal rank second for interceptions. Tottenham make the most tackles, offering evidence of Pochettino’s pressing game in their high-intensity attempts to dispossess opponents.

They have acquired steel because of their industry. Arsenal have found sturdiness through opposites, from the overlooked Coquelin to the high-class Cech. But each can trace resilience to an attitude that may consign spectacular scorelines to the past.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE