da bwin： Crossing the North London divide between Arsenal and Spurs is a rarity. The fervent rivalry that exists between the two clubs tends to prevent a multitude of transfers between the Londoners. There have been notable exceptions in the past with William Gallas recently moving from Arsenal to Tottenham on a free transfer in the summer, and more famously the controversial transfer of then Spurs captain Sol Campbell to Arsenal on a free in the summer of 2001. Thus, as we can see transfers between these two hated rivals aren’t customary with only 13 transfers recorded. After considering the history of transfers between the two North London giants in this article we will look at the likeliness and the merits of Jermain Defoe crossing the North London divide and joining Arsenal.
da heads bet： The Mirror reported this week that Arsenal were lining up a shock bid for Spurs striker Jermain Defoe after his disappointing season at White Hart Lane. The striker only scored 4 league goals in the 2010/11 season in 22 league appearances, a figure which is hardly likely to endear himself to the Arsenal faithful. However, the year before Defoe notched up an impressive 18 league goals in 34 league appearances, propelling the White Hart Lane to the bright lights of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
We can thus conclude that on last season’s statistics and goal return it is highly unlikely that Wenger will sign Jermain Defoe. Yet if the French tactician is of the belief that the 2009/10 season represented the striker’s real level then this transfer may indeed have a level of validity attached.
However, even if the story does have a semblance of legitimacy where would the Spurs striker fit into the Arsenal system? At Spurs he plays in a 4-4-2 where he is one of the main strikers alongside either Roman Pavlyuchenko, Robbie Crouch or Rafael Van Der Vaart, this system plays to Defoe’s strengths as he is allowed to play centrally and have little defensive duty. However, at the Emirates Arsene Wenger ’s team play a loose 4-3-3 I fail to see where Defoe would fit into the system.
Would he fit on the left side of the attack where we have seen Arshavin play over the last few seasons? I doubt he would have the trickery and subtlety to be truly effective as a left forward in this system, with his natural instinct to cut inside and fashion an effort on goal. This leaves either the right wing or the centre forward role, and one would imagine his natural predatory instincts would see him played as a centre forward. However, in this role the centre forward is expected to have a remarkably high level of technical skill with the ability to bring others into play, and as such van Persie plays here. It would be hard to envisage Defoe having the ability to play such a role, as his game relies on movement and raw pace rather than technique and pinpoint passes.
Overall, I doubt that Defoe would cross the North London divide and join Arsene Wenger at the Emirates as he is largely unneeded and doesn’t fit into the formation particularly well. Moreover, Defoe lacks the level of technique required at Arsenal, and with the mood at the Emirates somewhat frustrated this signing wouldn’t appease many disillusioned fans.
Read more of George McNeil’s articles at This is Futbol
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