The north London derby takes place on Sunday at the Emirates, with league leaders Arsenal hosting rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who went into the weekend in fifth.
Mikel Arteta’s side have lost just once this season, though drew their last league game away at Sunderland, while Thomas Frank has made a mixed start to his time in charge at Spurs. Both managers have serious injury issues to contend with this weekend after the international break brought little respite.
Here, Arsenal writer Art de Roche and his Tottenham counterpart Jack Pitt-Brooke look ahead to the game.
How confident will each team be going into this derby?
Art says: I’m fairly confident that Arsenal will come away as winners. Part of that comes from Arsenal winning five of the last six games between the sides and not losing against Spurs in three years — their last loss coming at the end of the 2021-22 season in a 3-0 away defeat.
Sunderland shocked Arsenal with two goals before the international break. Despite missing Gabriel for this match and beyond, their collective defensive solidity has been exceptional this season — particularly at home.
They have conceded just one goal at the Emirates all season, Erling Haaland’s strike in September. Cristhian Mosquera has stepped up when needed, but this may be a chance for Piero Hincapie to make a true introduction in place of Gabriel.
(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Jack says: Not especially. Tottenham have a historically dismal record in this fixture, not having won at the Emirates in the league since 2010. Better Spurs teams than this one have gone to Arsenal and come back with nothing.
While Spurs’ results this season have been pretty good, the performances have been unconvincing. Perhaps the only cause for optimism is that all of Spurs’ best league displays have all come away from home, when there is no onus on them to dominate possession, and their reactive game can flourish.
How damaging have injuries been this season?
Art says: Looking at the table, the assumption would be not so much, but that is more of a testament to Arsenal’s squad building. They rank fifth in the Premier League for injuries this season, while Spurs rank second.
In defence, midfield and attack, multiple players have stepped up to make the absences of William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres subplots as opposed to major narratives.
Even so, these injuries have still held Arsenal back in other ways. With Havertz and Jesus injured, Gyokeres was left to play more minutes than he may have expected, which resulted in him suffering a muscle injury. Elsewhere, Mikel Arteta hasn’t had a proper chance to try out different tactical setups.
Despite that, they are top of the league and players returning during the festive period could be just what is needed.
Jack says: Very bad. Tottenham’s best centre-forward, Dominic Solanke, has not started a game so far this season, restricted to a few substitute appearances in August before he had to have ankle surgery. Neither of their two best creative midfielders, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, have kicked a ball yet, both still recovering from knee operations in the summer.
Solanke (right) is one of many injuries Spurs have suffered (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
This has made Frank’s job even harder. And his squad was not exactly brimming with world-class attacking talent, even with everyone fit.
Who is the opposition player you fear could really inflict damage in this game?
Art says: This may be dependent on who is actually fit. Frank gave positive fitness updates on Mohammed Kudus and Pape Mate Sarr, who could cause different types of problems for Arsenal.
Arsenal will need to make at least one change to the left side of their defence, and if Kudus is fit and firing, containing his dribbling could be a tough ask for someone coming in fresh. Sarr showed in pre-season that he can be a problem at unexpected moments, when Arsenal are in possession, so if he is fit, they will need to be alert at all times.
Jack says: Is it too obvious to say Declan Rice? Tottenham struggle to impose themselves on big games in the middle of the pitch and while Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha can form an effective shield, they will have to be at their absolute best to deal with the England midfielder. If he can take control of the game, and Tottenham get forced further and further back, then they will have a lot of defending to do, and may eventually wilt under the pressure.
Why do you think Arsenal have finished so far above Spurs over the past three seasons?
Art says: Consistency. It should not be forgotten that early on under Arteta, Arsenal were very streaky. When they were in a run of good or bad form, it usually ran for a few weeks before something drastic happened to change it.
In the last three years, there have been fewer fluctuations in form, with a blend of time and quality being the main reasons. That has enabled Arteta to nail down what he expects to see from his players each day, which is seen every matchday.
Tottenham simply haven’t had the same consistency.
Jack says: Tottenham finished ahead of Arsenal six years in a row, but in the last three seasons, the advantage has swung dramatically back the other way, Arsenal finishing ahead of Spurs by three huge margins.
They have found a clear identity, the perfect manager to deliver it, and, crucially, have backed him with money to sign top players. Meanwhile, Tottenham have never settled on an identity, jumping from one idea to another, and have never been able to shop at the top end of the market to sign the players that they need to improve the team.
Arsenal have found an identity under Arteta (John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
What is your match prediction?
Art says: I’ll go 2-0 Arsenal. Even with the attacking injuries, I think Arsenal will have enough control of the game to fashion multiple scoring chances.
Bukayo Saka has been in strong scoring form for club and country and tends to show up in north London derbies, so he will remain a major threat. The winger’s six goal contributions against Spurs are the most he has against another top-six side, and he often scores a similar type of goal on the break in these games.
Elsewhere on the pitch, it will be interesting if the attack can truly click into gear or whether it will be another slow burn.
Jack says: I think it will be an ugly stop-start game, dominated by set pieces, especially if Frank gets his way. He will just want to keep things tight, slow the game down, and exploit any set pieces Spurs win. Tottenham have a great away record so far this season, so they do have a blueprint for winning games like this. I am going to go for a disjointed 0-0 draw.
