Alan Smith has suggested in his column for Sky Sports that Arsenal could find a way to beat Tottenham Hotspur by targeting Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero.
Mikel Arteta hosts Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in the north London derby. Arsenal will be searching for their third-straight win in the Premier League, while Tottenham hope to avoid a third-straight defeat.
Nuno and Arteta’s seasons have flipped 180 since the international break, with Spurs’ 100% winning start and the Gunners’ 100% losing record both ending. Emerson started his side’s 3-0 defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea, while Romero only faced the Blues.
Tottenham spent £21m to sign Emerson – who, per The Athletic, Arsenal explored signing – from Barcelona this summer. Nuno also loaned Romero from Atalanta for a season with a £47m option to buy after he won the Copa America.
Emerson’s physical profile stunned Arsenal, as they discussed a swap ideal including Hector Bellerin. The Gunners also felt he is tailor-made for the Premier League. Yet Smith believes he and Romero are two players Arteta could look to exploit.
“Tottenham have got a couple of new boys in Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero, and that might be an area that Arsenal can exploit, perhaps down the left-flank,” Smith wrote. “Just like Spurs, that’s the strength for Arsenal: the creative players they’ve got. They’ve got energy, ideas, real talent there.
“In the coming weeks, if those creative players just behind [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang can build up a relationship with the centre-forward, then you’re in business. But so much depends on Aubameyang. If it’s all falling down with him, if he’s not making the runs, if he’s not finishing his opportunities, then all that creativity comes to nothing.”
Will Arsenal target Tottenham’s Emerson and Romero on Sunday?
Arsenal turned their attentions to Takehiro Tomiyasu and freed Tottenham to sign Emerson as, while they appreciated his physicality, coaches were concerned over how he would fit in Arteta’s system. The Spaniard may now look to exploit those worries, like Smith suggests.
The 22-year-old had a difficult debut against Crystal Palace up against Wilfried Zaha and could not prevent Odsonne Edouard scoring. He also had a mixed day against Chelsea, with Marcos Alonso enjoying a lot of success. Just as Kieran Tierney will aim for on Sunday.
Romero, meanwhile, made his first top-flight start for Tottenham last Sunday and enjoyed a positive start. He did not do much wrong after regaining his composure from Kai Havertz running him ragged in the early stages. The 2020/21 Serie A defender of the year was also a threat from set-pieces, despite only training once that week.
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