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Keane and Arshavin Take a Bow?

A match featuring the 14th team in the league facing the 5th team before the weekend starts is never one to inspire a great deal of excitement but Sundays clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal may just buck that trend.

There is always tension in the air between the two rivals, their last match served up 8 goals and a late flurry in the 4-4 draw at the Emirates and some last day deadline additions to their squads will see the crowds clamouring for a view of the action.

And when we say last day of the deadline, we actually mean beyond the deadline as the Andrei Arshavin deal to Arsenal proved with the player only being ratified as an Arsenal player close to 24 hours after the window shut.

The next time you hear Arsene Wenger moan about Arsenal not getting the lucky breaks of the favoured decisions, remind him of when they officially got the nod to confirm that Arshavin was their player and ask him who has been bending the rules?

Will Arshavin Get Nod Over Bendtner?
Of course, the Russian star may not be considered fit enough to play a part in the match but no doubt his signing will reignite the passion in many Arsenal fans who have suffered week after week with insipid performances and having to watch players like Niklas Bendtner play from the start.

A few seasons ago, a forward with such limited talent as Bendtner would not have been allowed to run the bath water for the Arsenal first team squad but now it seems the clubs hopes are pinned upon him.

Whether he starts against Spurs remains to be seen but it can be no surprise that when he was afforded the opportunity to stake a claim for a regular starting role, the Gunners fired blanks in a 0-0 draw versus West Ham United

Robbie Takes a step back.
He may have been signed after the deadline but at least Arshavin is a new player to English football and his club.

Tottenham's latest deal of the transfer window saw Robbie Keane escape from his Merseyside hell and be welcomed back by the club and fans that he waved goodbye to back in July 2008. Yes, half a season is all that Robbie Keane has been away from White Hart Lane and although the Spurs fans will be delighted he is back, you have to question where Keane's career goes from here?

Keane has never played for a team in the hunt for the real trophies for any amount of time and many observers will point to the fact that he couldn't last over half a season at Anfield.

Perhaps his fall-out with boss Rafa Benitez was more serious than has been publicly stated but which top club will make a move for a player who was so unwilling to fight for himself and prove he could cut it at a top club? The likelihood is that Keane will now remain with Spurs, scoring goals and doing cartwheels until his scoring shelf-life starts to fade when he will start to drift down the leagues or move to Celtic in the SPL for one final payday.

Which Big Club Would Touch Keane Now?
It's a sad state of affairs to see a talented player like Keane admit defeat in trying to prove he is one of the best and that he belongs at a top club but as long as he scores goals to keep Spurs up and then eventually in mid-table security where they belong, the hordes of White Hart Lane wont complain too much.

Keane has already scored a brilliant goal against Arsenal this season and another may not be out of the question at the weekend for the man who has been named captain of the club.

Keane was not considered good enough for Liverpool to keep a hold of but is immediately made captain of his new team which probably tells quite a lot about the state of affairs at Tottenham Hotspur

The North London derby is the stand-out match of the weekend but another London based match on Sunday could also have a giant say in the destination of the title. West Ham United are on a fantastic run of form at the moment and recently held Arsenal at the Emirates.

On Sunday, they welcome Manchester United to the Boleyn Ground and if defeat can be avoided again, Chelsea and Liverpool may start believing again that there is a genuine title race on the cards

Title Challengers Must Not Slip Up
Chelsea and Liverpool are both in action on Saturday but with a home tie versus Hull and a trip to Portsmouth respectively, any dropped points would be viewed as a disaster for either side. Playing a day before Manchester United face a tricky away trip is the ideal opportunity to raise some pressure on the Red Devils and anything other than 3 points for the title challengers may well be enough to give United the scent of blood and the drive to push on from here in the league.

Aston Villa will look to stay amongst the big boys by taking all three points from Sam Allardyce's much improved Blackburn Rovers. Big Sam has his critics but the difference between his team and the one led by Paul Ince is clearly “men against boys” and the longer the Rovers resurgence continues the longer it will be before Ince is handed an opportunity to manage a top flight club again.

Tony Mowbray Needs a Win
West Brom versus Newcastle and Sunderland versus Stoke are the big relegation games of the day but given the current state of the league, only the West Ham versus Manchester United games has no team looking increasingly worried about their top flight.

A home tie against fellow strugglers means that it is a must win game for the Baggies versus Newcastle but if they manage this, they would leapfrog Newcastle in the table. It's so tight it would be impossible to predict what position this would put them in but a home win for West Brom would definitely take them off the bottom of the league. And if that isn't enough to put a smile on Tony Mowbrays then nothing will.

As things stand there are no meaningless games in the Premier League at the moment and although there are no clashes between the top teams battling it out for the league, there is a multitude of pressure games and flash points waiting in the English Premier League.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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