Toure: Title tilt still a possibility for Arsenal

Kolo Toure believes he has a 'nasty' streak that can help Arsenal put their Barclays Premier League title bid back on track.

The Gunners head to Bolton tomorrow in their worst run of league form in nine seasons after taking only four points from the last five games to allow both Manchester United and Chelsea to overtake them at the top of the table.

Manager Arsene Wenger believes his side have paid a high price for some poor defensive displays - which was evident at Stamford Bridge last weekend where Toure and central partner William Gallas failed to deal with the threat of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as the Blues came from behind to win 2-1.

Ivory Coast international Toure, 27, has, though, been one of the most consistent performers since he came into the first team.

The mild-mannered African, who arrived at Highbury in February 2002, learned from legendary former Gunners such as Tony Adams and Martin Keown, who were renowned for their no-nonsense approach.

'One who really helped me a lot was Martin Keown,' Toure said, speaking in the April edition of the official Arsenal magazine.

'I have played with him several times and he helped me establish myself in the squad.

'He (was) always giving me advice, teaching me some of the intelligent things and also some nasty things you need to do in the game.

'Martin was an amazing player for Arsenal. He had a great career and had a good attitude on the pitch - he was always involved, always helping the team, always pushing people to encourage each other and raising the level because you can't rely on just one person to do that.'

Despite now trailing leaders Manchester United by six points - and one behind Chelsea - Arsenal are still not yet out of the title race, as key fixtures between the top three are still to come.

Toure accepts it is a tough battle for the championship, but insists the Gunners must focus only on their own performances rather than worry about what might happen elsewhere.

'It seems that this season the title race involves three teams and this shows that the league is really strong at the moment,' he said.

'But we have to concentrate on ourselves, and on what we have to do over the remaining games - if we win the rest of our games we will have a great chance of winning the title.'

Wenger reported a clean bill of health from those who returned from international duty to the training ground yesterday morning before he set off to the Emirates Stadium where French president Nicolas Sarkozy met Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

However, the Gunners will be missing full-back Bacary Sagna, set to be out for up to a month after suffering an ankle injury at Chelsea.

'It is a big blow because he has been a revelation for us, a fantastic player,' said Wenger, whose side face Liverpool three times in a week after the Bolton game as they resume Champions League action.

The Arsenal manager accepts his team must tighten up at the back if they are to put pressure on leaders United.

Wenger said: 'What we want to do is perform well as a team again and we know we can do that.

'At Chelsea we played okay, but we have to improve. Recently what punished us a lot is that defensively we have made big mistakes.'

Carling Cup Preview: Tottenham – Arsenal

Carling Cup Preview: Tottenham – Arsenal

What: Carling Cup Semi-Final, 2nd Leg
Who: Tottenham (11th EPL, 27pts) v Arsenal (2nd EPL, 54pts)
When: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008, 20:00 (GMT)
Where: White Hart Lane, London

In The Balance

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham go into battle on Tuesday with their semi-final finely poised after the 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Emirates.

Tottenham took the lead against Arsene Wenger’s young guns two weeks ago with a Jermaine Jenas goal after 37 minutes, only for Theo Walcott to rescue a draw with a rather lucky equaliser 11 minutes from time with Tottenham looking to hold on for the win.

Arsenal would have left the happier of the two sides with Spurs assistant Gus Poyet frustrated not to take a lead into the second leg. "We were the better team. We deserved to win but it's a 180-minute game and there are still 90 to go," he said.

Juande Aiming For Cup Glory

Although Juande Ramos wasn’t in charge for either this season’s league defeat or last season’s Carling Cup defeat, he will be looking to help Spurs exact some revenge on the Gunners and end a long run of defeats for the White Hart Lane club.

Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal in nine years, so a League semi-final would be the ideal time to finally do so.

Manager Juande Ramos had quite a cup record while at Sevilla, and Spurs fans will be hoping he can continue it in North London tomorrow. During his first season at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, he won the Uefa Cup and followed that up the next year with the Copa del Rey and a successful defence of the Uefa Cup.

Assistant manager Gus Poyet meanwhile admits the club are desperate to finally gain a win over their fierce local rivals.

"I hope there will be a bigger game than this - in the final - but for now at this moment it's the biggest game of the season for different reasons" he said.

"It's all about making sure we get to the final - we believe we can and if we do it's going to be a great night for everyone.

"I won't have to say anything to the players, it's a perfect night for them to be involved - everyone will be desperate to play in this game."

You’ll Not Win Anything With Kids

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger on the other hand is looking to dispel the now famous Alan Hansen adage that ‘you don’t win anything with kids.’

The Frenchman is insisting he will keep the faith with the young players, who have got the club to this stage of the competition and will resist the temptation of bringing in a few more experienced heads to ensure the Gunners make the final.

"We have made decisions that will stand for the second leg. I'm convinced we can do it" he stressed.

Wenger says he is as bemused by Tottenham’s lack of success against his side as the Spurs contingent are.

"The result in the first leg continued our long unbeaten run against Tottenham, and I don't know why it should be that they haven't beaten us for more than eight years.

"They have always had good teams in that period, but we have been fighting for the championship a lot in that time so we always have a high focus. Maybe after a while it becomes psychological as well.

"We will go there positively, looking for the win, and they will be too, so it is set up nicely" the Arsenal boss added.

FORM GUIDE

Tottenham

Match Result Date Championship
Tottenham - Sunderland 2 - 0 19/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Reading - Tottenham 0 - 1 15/01/2008 FA CUP
Chelsea - Tottenham 2 - 0 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Tottenham 1 - 1 09/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Tottenham - Reading 2 - 2 05/01/2008 FA CUP
Aston Villa - Tottenham 2 - 1 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE


Arsenal

Match Result Date Championship
Fulham - Arsenal 0 - 3 19/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Birmingham 1 - 1 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Tottenham 1 - 1 09/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Burnley - Arsenal 0 - 2 06/01/2008 FA CUP
Arsenal - West Ham 2 - 0 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Everton - Arsenal 1 - 4 29/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE


TEAM NEWS

Tottenham

Tottenham midfielder Steed Malbranque returns from suspension, but Tom Huddlestone begins his three-match ban following his red card in Spurs’ FA Cup third round draw with Reading.

Ledley King was rested at the weekend to protect his knee and could return for the White Hart Lane clash.

Didier Zokora is on international duty and Chris Gunter is cup-tied. Gareth Bale (foot), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) and Anthony Gardner (ankle) are all out, while Darren Bent (knee) has been out recently and would be likely to miss out if he was fit.

1st leg line-up: Cerny, Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Lee, Lennon, Jenas, O’Hara, Malbranque (Boateng), Berbatov, Keane (Defoe)

Squad: Cerny, Robinson, Chimbonda, Lee, Stalteri, Dawson, King, Kaboul, Rocha, Huddlestone, Malbranque, Jenas, Boateng, O'Hara, Tainio, Lennon, Berbatov, Defoe, Keane, Rose, Taarabt.

Arsenal

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed William Gallas will lead the side for Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Tottenham.

Philippe Senderos (nose) has joined Johan Djourou (groin) on the sidelines, so Justin Hoyte or Gilberto are set to fill in at centre-back.

Theo Walcott is set to return, having not been involved at all in the win over Fulham on Saturday, while Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner should also both feature after being unused substitutes at Craven Cottage.

Striker Robin van Persie (thigh) is not yet match fit, while Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Alex Song are all away at the African Nations Cup.

1st leg line-up: Fabianski, J.Hoyte, Djourou (Sagna), Senderos, Traore, Walcott (Randall) Denilson, Silva, Diaby, van Persie (Eduardo), Bendtner

Squad: Fabianski, J Hoyte, Gallas, Senderos, Traore, Diaby, Denilson, Gilberto, Eduardo, Walcott, Bendtner, Mannone, Sagna, Rosicky, Randall, Gibbs, Lansbury, G Hoyte.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tottenham- Robbie Keane

Fresh from scoring his 100th goal for the club at the weekend against Sunderland, Robbie Keane will be looking to get back on the goal-scoring trail immediately and do his bit to fire Spurs into a Wembley final. The Republic of Ireland international will look to profit from an under-strength Arsenal back four and cause the Gunners all kinds of problems with his strike partner Dimitar Berbatov.

Arsenal- William Gallas

Gallas may well be asked to provide the experienced head along with midfielder Gilberto Silva as Arsenal look to win at White Hart Lane and kept up their unbeaten run against Spurs. The French defender said last week that the youngsters at the club inspire him. On Wednesday it could well be Gallas’ turn to inspire them and lead them to a place in the Carling Cup final.

PREDICTION

Expect a full-blooded English Cup tie at White Hart Lane with two fierce local rivals both going all-out to reach the final. I just have a sneaky suspicion that this could be the night when Tottenham get that long awaited win over their North London rivals and book their ticket in the final. There should be plenty of drama in N17 and goals aplenty.

Tottenham 1 Arsenal 2