Saturday's North London Derby has all the makings of a fascinating tactical battle between two highly competitive managers with somewhat different systems.
Mikel Arteta admires the artistry and fluidity of 4-3-3 and how it enables Arsenal's players to express themselves on the pitch. Whereas Antonio Conte prefers the more pragmatic formation of 3-4-3 and believes it will bring success to Tottenham in the way it did to Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan.
His system is a well-oiled machine full of hard-working cogs with Conte demanding that his team are tactically astute and disciplined.
Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte go head-to-head as Arsenal take on Tottenham on Saturday
Every player is expected to defend when they are out of possession, with no exceptions, but they snap into attack mode by breaking forward once they win the ball back.
Saturday's head-to-head between first and third in the Premier League is timely, coming after an international break in which there was a debate about whether England should use 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 at this winter's World Cup.
Like all tactical aficionados out there, Gareth Southgate will be an interested observer today, wondering which system will triumph.
The last North London Derby in May was billed as the biggest in recent memory and Conte won that one 3-0 as Tottenham beat Arsenal to fourth. Arteta will have learned lessons from that defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Spanish manager's expressive style has climbed Arsenal to the top of the Premier League
That day, Arsenal's full backs left their central defenders exposed by tracking Tottenham's wing backs. Cedric Soares in particular was flying out of his right back position to close down the left wing back Ryan Sessegnon, leaving Rob Holding in one-v-one situations with Heung-min Son.
Holding ended up receiving two yellow cards for an accumulation of fouls on Son in the first half and Arsenal lost. Central defenders William Saliba and Gabriel cannot be left in that vulnerable position today. Arsenal's back four needs to stay as intact and compact as possible to deal with Tottenham's special front three.
The reinvented Eric Dier, a former midfielder now being used at the centre of Conte's back three, will be looking to use his long-range direct passing to feed the wide forwards and Arsenal's full backs need to be occupying those spaces to help deal with those balls into Tottenham's front-runners.
But Conte's disciplined and pragmatic approach has handed Tottenham an unbeaten start
Arteta will have been looking at how Arsenal can hurt this Tottenham team. The midfield pairing that protect Conte's back three, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, have acted like the Kray twins this season – two aggressive enforcers manning the midfield.
But if Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli can drift into pockets of space behind the wall of Bentancur and Hojbjerg, Arsenal can have success.
Bukayo Saka will stay high and wide on the right wing, fixing the Tottenham left wing back.
Spurs will be wary of Arsenal's star signing Gabriel Jesus, who has scored four goals already
That helps to create space for Odegaard to operates towards that side. On the left, Martinelli will drift into the middle, and either Granit Xhaka or Oleksandr Zinchenko will run on to the Tottenham right wing back, pinning him.
If any of Tottenham's back three are then tempted into pushing up to mark Odegaard or Martinelli in those positions, that will leave holes for Gabriel Jesus to run into.
Arteta will feel he has the tools to win on Saturday. His summer signings have had a major impact and there is a new-found togetherness between the players and the fans at Arsenal, and this Tottenham group will not have experienced the electric atmosphere that is awaiting them at the Emirates Stadium today.
Son Heung-min answered his recent critics with a scintillating hat-trick against Leicester City
After that 3-0 win for Tottenham over Arsenal in May, Conte told Arteta to stop moaning, saying 'he has to be more focused on his team and not to complain'. The Arsenal manager has indeed concentrated on perfecting his side and their system, and they now sit top of the Premier League.
This promises to be a blockbuster battle between two managers who wholeheartedly believe their individual tactical approaches are the best ways to bring success to their clubs.
But ultimately, it is Saturday's result which will tell us more about which of these two teams has the necessary quality to push and challenge and maybe deny Manchester City in their quest to win their third successive Premier League title.
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