Emery's blueprint to beat Tottenham: bring Ozil back & things need to be done

The belittlers will have you believe that Arsenal’s unbeaten run under Unai Emery is because of luck in timing. ‘Yeah, yeah,’ they say. ‘They haven’t lost in 18 but who have they actually beaten?’

It is true that Newcastle, Watford, Leicester and Bournemouth are among those they have defeated, yet these are also sides who beat them under Arsene Wenger last season.

So Arsenal are taking those sorts of comments as motivation ahead of tackling Tottenham in Sunday’s north London derby, where they want to make it 19 matches without defeat.

They want to make a statement against their noisy neighbours at the Emirates Stadium.

The last time Emery’s side were beaten was by Chelsea in August, having also lost to Manchester City the week before. Since then, they have gone WWWWWWWWWWWDWDDDWW.

They head into their first north London derby without Wenger since 1996 and Emery wants to prove he can beat a big Premier League side. Here, Sportsmail assesses how he can do that.

THE MESUT OZIL PUZZLE

Mesut Ozil did not even warm up at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium last weekend because the German World Cup winner knew he would not be needed.

Emery dropped his best-paid player to the bench because, according to the head coach himself, he only wanted to use players who were up for the fight.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan started instead, though the Armenian is not doing enough to warrant a spot in the starting line-up this season.

So, will £300,000-a-week Ozil be brought back into the side? In Sportsmail’s opinion, he should, despite his history of going AWOL in big games.

Against Liverpool at the start of November, Arsenal drew 1-1 and Ozil put in a spirited performance while wearing the captain’s armband. If given the space, the playmaker can hurt Tottenham.

Ozil will know eyes are on him at the Emirates. A lot will be expected of the club’s main man, especially after all the talk about why he was not used against Bournemouth.

WATCH OUT FOR THAT POCH PRESS

You only need to take a look at the table to realise where Arsenal are falling short. In the ‘goals for’ column, they are up there with the best. In the ‘goals against’, not so much.

Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding are likely to start in the centre of a back four which has conceded 16 goals this season. It is a record which leaves them closer to the likes of Crystal Palace and other Premier League strugglers than Tottenham and Co.

Part of the problem is Arsenal shoot themselves in the foot too often. They have committed 12 errors that led directly to shots, with the next nearest side on eight.

Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen are likely to press high up the pitch, just like they did so successfully against Chelsea at Wembley Stadium last week.

The Gunners like passing out from the back – when goalkeeper Bernd Leno is taking a goal-kick, the centre backs will spread out to either side of the box – so they have to avoid any mistakes.

Otherwise, Tottenham’s players will pounce and punish them.

Emery used Holding against Vorskla Poltava on Thursday, with the temperature –10C at kick-off, and brought him off after an hour with Sunday’s match in mind. A nice warm up…

GIVE AUBAMEYANG ASSISTANCE

Alexandre Lacazette has been training but a late call will be made on whether he is fit to start following a groin injury. If not, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will get the nod up front.

Aubameyang has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. That proved to be the case against Bournemouth last weekend in the absence of Lacazette.

He got his goal to leave him as the Premier League’s joint-top scorer – on eight, alongside Sergio Aguero – and ensured Arsenal stayed hot on the heels of the top four.

Though he scored, Aubameyang often appeared isolated against Bournemouth, just as he did in the 1-0 loss to Tottenham last February when he was used as a lone forward.

He needs assistance. Emery may tell his striker to target Juan Foyth, Tottenham’s young defender who has shown he has a mistake in him, but what he really requires is support.

Kane gets that and, should he start as a lone centre forward, Aubameyang needs it too.

KEEP YOUR HEADS

The statistics say it all. Arsenal have scored a single headed goal this season, making them one of the worst in the Premier League in that department. Tottenham have scored eight, making them the best.

Kane and Alli are among the aerial threats, particularly if a crossing expert like Kieran Trippier overcomes his groin issue to play.

Emery may decide Sokratis Papastathopoulos, one of Arsenal’s more powerful defenders, can do a job on Tottenham and use a back three, like the one used against Bournemouth.

Whatever way the Spaniard decides to go, the Gunners are likely to have the lion’s share of possession in this game and the wings will be crucial to control.

Arsenal and Tottenham are not too dissimilar. Both teams’ full-backs like to push forward, which adds to the attack but also leaves a lot of space for any speedsters to exploit behind.

Whoever wins that battle could win the overall war.

EMERY VS POCH – FRIENDS BECOME ENEMIES

Those who have worked under Emery say he is more active on the training field than your average manager. He does not simply oversee proceedings – he dictates every little detail.

The Spaniard has been described as obsessed with football and he clearly admires his Argentine counterpart. When Emery departed Valencia in the summer of 2012, he endorsed Mauricio Pochettino for the role of replacing him.

‘I told the president that, for me, my ideal successor would be Mauricio Pochettino, who was at Espanyol,’ he told Marca. ‘Because I analysed all the teams. Later, Poch called me to thank me. And I did it without knowing him, but I knew his Espanyol well.’

Pochettino is one of football’s best at man-management. Like his counterpart, he too is active on the training field and his players will put in the hard yards for him.

Emery has shown he is not afraid to make big calls to suit certain matches. He proved that with his ballsy decision to drop Ozil last week, which paid off.

His in-game management will be key but he has made decisions that have benefitted his team on several occasions this season. Arsenal have not led at half-time in the Premier League under Emery and yet have still not lost since August.