There was an undeniable amount of excitement in the air as Mesut Ozil’s signature ‘bounce‘ finish floated past a helpless Thibaut Courtois to give Arsenal a 3-0 first-half lead over Chelsea in their 2016 Premier League clash.
The result sent the Gunners three points clear of the Blues and the Emirates Stadium faithful were starting to believe that their side consisting of the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil could mount a serious title challenge for the first time since they had left Highbury ten years later.
Arsenal supporters‘ hopes were not realised as Arsene Wenger’s men finished fifth at the end of the season, the first time they had failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in almost two decades.
It was Chelsea who eventually lifted the Premier League title in May, securing a 90-point finish after then-manager Antonio Conte decided to switch to a three-at-the-back system following the loss in north London.
Fast forward almost five years and Conte is now the head coach of another north London club in the form of Tottenham Hotspur, replacing the struggling Nuno Espirito Santo back in November of last year.
Conte has established himself as one of Europe’s best managers over the last decade, winning league titles with each of his last three clubs – where he has utilised his aforementioned 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 setups.
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The Italian has been hailed for his tactical brain, and rightly so, with opposition teams struggling to deal with his teams‘ wide overloads and quick transitions – something that has even caught out veteran coach Pep Guardiola.
“Chelsea’s approach was really different but that is part of the game“, Guardiola said bitterly after Chelsea defeated Manchester City 3-1 back in 2017.
“You don’t expect Chelsea to create 25 chances – they created three and scored three.”
Despite consistent success with his favoured system, Conte has often struggled against Arsenal.
The former Inter Milan boss has lost four of his eight meetings with the Gunners, drawing three and recording just one win, a dismal record considering the north London outfit are often famed for their poor big-game performances.
Conte seems to struggle against teams that consist of numerous playmakers operating between the lines, something that Wenger frequently implemented, with Ozil, Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey all roaming in the half-spaces during victories over the Italian.
This is something that current boss Mikel Arteta can exploit during this week’s north London derby by deploying Martin Odegaard as well as Emile Smith Rowe against the Lillywhites, provided they are both fit.
Arteta’s front four of Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah has been working well in recent weeks but the pragmatic choice to drop Martinelli for Smith Rowe on Sunday could be crucial to secure all three points in N17. Changing the team may seem contradictory to the Gunners‘ success, especially when you consider that continuity in starting line-ups has been vital for Arteta’s men.
Cliché as it is, derbies are a one-off and often form goes completely out the window.
Back in December, Liverpool exposed Spurs‘ weakness in the left half-space, consistently finding gaps between the right-wing-back and right-centre-back.
This is an area that Smith Rowe particularly excels in, floating inside from the left flank to occupy space in between the lines and create chances for his teammates.
The English international can combine with Odegaard here to get at Tottenham, who rarely struggle when defending vertically but can be undone in the aforementioned half-spaces.
Another defensive fragility that comes with Conte’s system is the gap between the midfield pivot and defensive line, with runners from deep possessing the ability to arrive late and steal a goal, as Aaron Ramsey managed in the 2017 FA Cup final.
Both Smith Rowe and Odegaard have improved on their movement in the final third, making similar runs to Ramsey before putting the ball into the back of the net.
The talented pair have netted an impressive 16 Premier League goals between them this term.
If the two creative maestros can make a signature ‘Frank Lampard run‘ to the edge of the box they have a good chance of helping Arteta’s side secure a victory on Thursday.
Conte is likely to deploy Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in a midfield pivot alongside either Rodrigo Bentancur, both of which are accomplished defensively but somewhat sluggish in terms of speed, some that the youthful Odegaard and Smith Rowe could potentially exploit.
A win would then secure a top-four finish for Arteta and Co, qualifying them for next season’s UEFA Champions League in the process.