Tottenham’s Gareth Bale Doesn’t Worry Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger

Gareth Bale of Tottenham may have won the Player of the Month award for February but the Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, insists that they will not be worrying about him as they prepare for this weekend’s derby at White Hart Lane.

Gareth Bale – doesn’t worry Arsenal [Photo: Logan Holmes]Gareth Bale’s two goals at Upton Parkbrought his total for the season to 19 for Spurs plus four for Wales. He has scored 8 goals in his last 6 matches with ‘doubles’ against West Ham, Lyon at White Hart Lane and Newcastle United while on Boxing Day he scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa.

The Premier League game on Sunday is vital for both teams and one they want to win – to inflict damage on each other’s Champions League challenge while strengthening their own.

In this weekend’s newspapers, Arsene Wenger insists that Arsenal aren’t worried by the threat posed by Bale.

In the report in the Daily Mail, it is Wenger’s opinion that it is only a matter of time before Bale’s form dips. When asked if Bale could maintain his current form he said,

"‘No, to maintain that percentage, and I think it’s certainly the best in Europe in terms of conversion rate and chances created, is very, very difficult.”"

The Arsenal manager does not intend to implement any special plan to try to stop Bale insisting,

“We don’t have a plan for any opposing player. Like we always do, we focus on our strengths and forget about our opponent.”

The Mirror reports that Wenger will not change the shape of his defence to stop Bale, insisting that Arsenal have players who can pose a serious goal threat to Tottenham. Arsenal have only conceded 11 goals in 13 away matches this season, the lowest of any team in the Premier League. They have, however, scored only 17 in winning 5 and drawing 3 on their travels.

"“But we don’t plan for anybody. He is not a subject of our worries for the next two or three days. We have great players in our team and it would be a complete mistake to focus on any player from Tottenham. I feel we can score from many positions … we have many players who can score. Walcott can score, Giroud can score, Cazorla can score, I think Wilshere will score as well, so we have many players. Podolski can score, so we have many players. I think we are harder to set up against than Tottenham.”"

Gareth Bale against Arsenal

2007 – 08

Gareth Bale scored for Tottenham against Arsenal on his home debut in September, 2007. Spurs took an early lead from Bale’s free-kick, curling a low shot round the wall and inside the goalkeeper’s right hand post. Arsenal went on to win with three goals in the last 25 minutes, two of them from Emmanuel Adebayor.

2008 – 09

In October, 2008, he started in 4 – 4 draw at the Emirates in Harry Redknapp’s first official match in charge.

2009 – 10

In April, 2010, Bale scored two minutes after half-time to put Spurs two ahead in the game which they won 2 – 1 to start their surge to finish fourth.

2010 – 11

In November, 2010, Bale scored the first goal for Spurs, five minutes into the second half as they recovered from being two down at the interval to win 3 – 2 at the Emirates. He played in the 3 – 3 draw at White Hart Lane.

2011 – 12

Bale played in 2 – 1 home win in October, 2011 and won the penalty which put Spurs two up at the Emirates the following February, Adebayor scoring from the spot.

November, 2012

Bale scored an individual goal running from his own half as 10-man Spurs pulled a goal back in the second half to unsettle Arsenal who had taken advantage of Adebayor’s early dismissal.

Bale has caused Arsenal problems, even in defeat and has been at the heart of some of the good things that have happened for Spurs in recent seasons against their near neighbours.

Tottenham’s manager, Andre Villas-Boas, was also quoted in the Mirror on teams trying to plan for Bale and insisted that his player is capable of maintaining his exceptional scoring sequence,

"“Teams [try] to respond to a player of this dimension by a collective effort. He can escape being man-marked. He’s proved that in different fixtures against different opposition, European included. He’s going to be a major threat in the game. You can’t allow him any kind of space. He can turn up in different places, unsettles opponents with his pace, his power his technique. Hopefully we can see him continue on this level of form and can continue to be decisive.”"

Arsenal have been warned – they know what to expect from Gareth Bale, now it’s up to Tottenham to demonstrate that they can produce the result in what will be a very high-pressured north London derby. Bale, himself knows the importance of the game. Speaking to SkySports he said,

"“It’s one we want to win. We started well last time and the sending-off was a problem. We want to rectify that score now and hopefully get the three points. We go into the game full of confidence, looking for three points to boost our hopes of getting into the Champions League. It’s massive. We know how big it is – not just for us but for the fans.”"