Tactical Battles That Will Shape Tottenham Hotspur's Clash with Arsenal

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal travel to White Hart Lane to take on Tim Sherwood's struggling Tottenham Hotspur in the 175th North London derby this weekend, in what is normally one of the defining games of the season. But what are the key tactical battles that will decide the match?

The world will have barely caught its breath following the early Premier League kick-off between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford before the blood and thunder of the North London derby takes hold.

Both Arsenal and Spurs struggled badly in European competition this week. The Gunners were second best to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Spurs were utterly mauled by Benfica in the Europa League. 

Wenger and Sherwood will be looking for a reaction. Although, in the Spurs gaffer's case, he will be looking for a reaction to a reaction after he called his team out after their dismal performance against Chelsea last weekend.

Here, Bleacher Report looks at the key tactical battles that will shape the clash

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com unless otherwise stated.

Jan Vertonghen vs. Olivier Giroud

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Contrary to popular belief that Aaron Ramsey or even Mesut Ozil is Arsenal's most important player, it is none other than Olivier Giroud who makes the Gunners tick.

The Frenchman has contributed 12 goals and seven assists from 26 Premier League games this season. He is easily one of the most dangerous men in the English top flight. This is a far cry from last season where he struggled badly. However, a tough preseason combined with Arsenal missing out on the likes of Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney and Gonzalo Higuain, mean that a stronger, fitter and more confident striker is now available to his manager.

Giroud is now the most vital cog in Arsenal's attacking array. Everything goes through him at one stage or another. He is always available to receive the ball and, in a very unselfish manner for a striker, he looks to create opportunities for his supporting midfielders, be they out wide or bombing through the centre like Ramsey.

If Spurs want to stop Arsenal then they have to achieve two feats. The first is in stopping the supply lines to Giroud. The second is in actually stopping the striker.

That task will fall to Jan Vertonghen. When the two teams met in the North London derby at the start of the season, the Belgian kept Giroud quiet for the whole match with the exception of one moment.

During those vital seconds, Giroud broke to the near post and diverted a cross past Hugo Lloris that eventually proved to be the winning goal.

Vertonghen, so badly out of form, needs to get back on track for the World Cup in Brazil. He won't face much tougher opposition than Giroud between now and the end of the season and this battle will go a long way to deciding the result.

Bacary Sagna vs. Danny Rose or Kyle Naughton

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When it comes to Arsenal's attack and defense, perhaps no other player contributes as much as Bacary Sagna.

The French international is in the final months of his current contract at the Gunners and can leave on a free transfer in June. One thing is for sure, there will be no shortage of suitors for the Premier League's best right-back. 

If Arsenal do not tie him to the club before the end of the season, teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Manchester City will most definitely be interested.

Forty percent of all Arsenal's attacks emanate down the right flank. Much of the credit goes to Sagna's clever use of the ball and his, always, near perfect positional sense. 

He goes into battle this weekend against a non-existent left side for Spurs. Since Gareth Bale left for Real Madrid, Spurs have not had a recognized left-sided midfielder. Eric Lamela's capture from AS Roma has proved to be an unmitigated disaster and against Chelsea last week, Tim Sherwood chose to play with a recognized left-sided full-back or midfielder.

That ultimately proved costly as the Blues hammered Spurs 4-0. Midweek they were battered by Benfica and it was interesting to see Sherwood spring Danny Rose from the bench despite his team's problems in midfield.

Rose was essentially played to give him match fitness ahead of the derby this weekend.

With Spurs' defensive woes being what they are and with Rose being such a vital member of the team, one suspects that the talented 23-year-old will start against Sagna.

Having missed several weeks through injury, the last player a ring-rusty full-back wants to face is Sagna bombing down the wing.

The skirmish on this flank will be one of the key tactical battles.

4-4-2 vs. 4-2-3-1

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Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have been utilizing a 4-2-3-1 formation for the last number of years. Tottenham Hotspur, on the other hand, have used any number of formations and have never settled on one distinct system.

The Gunners tend to overload central midfield. With each and every player being technically gifted, they move the ball around at rapid pace through the middle and use this as an attacking and defensive tool in equal measure.

Spurs, under Tim Sherwood, have tended to use 4-4-2 variant formations. Under his predecessor, Andre Villas-Boas, they used a narrower version of 4-2-3-1 than Arsenal which proved difficult to break down.

The problem with 4-4-2 against 4-2-3-1 occurs when the furthest most central midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 formation drops back to give his team a triumvirate against two.

Unless those two players are extremely gifted and extremely fit, they will come out worst on practically every occasion. One thing that we can safely say about Spurs' midfield this season is that they are neither gifted nor fit.

Considering how badly Spurs are playing at the moment and the alarming rate they are conceding goals, it would be folly for Sherwood not to play a 4-2-3-1 against Arsenal this weekend.

He tried a 4-4-2 against the Gunners in the FA Cup game at the beginning of January and they were totally outplayed. This happened despite Arsenal being out of form. The problem for Spurs, though, is their lack of mobility in central midfield.

Sherwood couldn't wave a magic wand to coax a performance out of his players and he most certainly can't magic Sandro and Moussa Dembele into sprinters. Therefore, he will need to make midfield a battle zone that Arsenal will not want to battle in.

How he achieves that with this group of players will be anyone's guess, but one thing is for sure, Arsene Wenger won't change his game plan.

Christian Eriksen vs. Tomas Rosicky

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If there is one player who looks a class act at Tottenham Hotspur this season, it is Christian Eriksen. The Danish midfielder has been played all over the place since Tim Sherwood took over from Andre Villa-Boas in December.

Under the Portuguese, Eriksen played in the hole behind Roberto Soldado. Since Sherwood came in, he has played in every position across midfield and even further forward when he experimented with using 4-3-3.

Eriksen is the one and only outfield Spurs player who would walk into Arsenal's team, and even then he would have to fight hard. He is technically gifted, moves around the pitch beautifully and has superb vision. Considering Spurs' problems on the left, it certainly looks like Eriksen will fill that void until the summer.

It is not his natural position, but because he is so good, he is always a danger.

The player most like Eriksen at Arsenal is Tomas Rosicky.

The little Czech international has been one of Arsenal's better players this year and never seems to have a bad game. When he was introduced for the anonymous Mesut Ozil against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the tide of the game turned.

Ozil will miss this game with a hamstring injury that Arsene Wenger has not put a time frame on for his return. 

In the past clubs have used "the injury tactic" on big-money signings that have been on the verge of flopping to give them a rest from first-team duty and to relieve them of the pressures of the game.

Either way, Ozil will play no part against Spurs and one wonders how much of a part he will play during Arsenal's run in. It might even prove smart management to rest him for the rest of the season.

Rosicky should come in for the German, and his constant running and probing will cause Spurs plenty of problems.

Rosicky and Eriksen are unlikely to come face-to-face, but their statistical battle will be more than interesting to watch.

Tim Sherwood vs. Arsene Wenger

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Tim Sherwood famously called his team out after they capitulated against Chelsea last weekend. Speaking to the BBC after the game, Sherwood was brutal in his honesty:

"

There's a lack of character, too many of them are too nice to each other and you need to show a bit more guts.

You can't legislate for the capitulation—you can't have that.

It hurts me and I won't forget about this when we hit the motorway, but some might.

"

Sherwood was brave in his choice of words. He said everything that a fan or manager would want to say under the same circumstances. However, he was unwise to wash his dirty laundry so publicly.

He basically insulted every single player at Spurs, never mind the ones on the pitch. His reserves would have seen this interview and thought: "If he thinks that of them and they play, what does he think about me?"

His problems with the men on the pitch arise when he then goes to ask them for a performance. Memories cannot be washed clean and there is no such thing as a clean slate in football.

During the week, he added further fuel to the fire by saying that certain players were playing for their futures. Speaking to a Europa League press conference, as per Sky Sports, he said:

"

There are a lot of players here now who are playing for their future and I think they realize that. I will have a good look at the whole squad and see who I need to keep and who I need to bring in.

"

Considering that Sherwood might not be at the club next summer, and the players know this, this was strange in the least.

By contrast, Arsene Wenger has given an almost perfect performance in how to behave in front of the cameras over the last couple of weeks.

Arsenal were beaten by Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium and drew with them in Germany but ultimately went out to the far better team. Rather than turn on his team, Wenger turned the attention on Arjen Robben, who he said was a diver, as per Sky Sports.

Against Stoke, he claimed they only lost because the referee awarded a soft penalty, as per Sky Sports.

When his team were destroyed 5-1 by Liverpool, he said the result was an accident, as per BBC.

On each and every occasion, Wenger has enabled his team with psychological self-denial. 

Ultimately, this tactic appears to have worked as Arsenal's players seem far happier with their recent performances than Spurs, who are constantly reminded of theirs.

This weekend, Sherwood and Wenger lock horns. No amount of psychology from the sidelines will work during the 90 minutes of action, but what they say in the build up to the game could shape the rest of their season and be equally as important as the tactics employed during the game.