For the 198th time, Arsenal and Tottenham meet for the North London Derby on Sunday.
Arsenal come into the match with a four-point lead at the top of the table over Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s men have only suffered one defeat this season and, before the 2-2 draw with Sunderland, had won 12 straight matches.
Tottenham come into the match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Manchester United before the international break.
Thomas Frank’s men have been fortunate to be so high up in the table, given the underlying numbers through 11 matches.
Arsenal have got the better of Tottenham in this rivalry recently, winning the last six meetings in the Premier League.
The Gunners have been virtually unstoppable to start the Premier League season, so it’s going to take a monumental effort for Tottenham to walk away with any points on Sunday.
In this tactical analysis article, we will look at the importance of set-pieces in Sunday’s match, the tactics Arsenal will use to break down Spurs low block, and the problems Tottenham have in possession against Arsenal.
Set-Pieces
Some say this should be called the “Set Piece Derby” rather than the North London Derby.
Arsenal are the best set-piece team in the Premier League, scoring 10 of their 20 goals directly from set plays.
There are a couple of different routines that Arsenal will use, but the main one is fairly simple.
Arsenal will start with a grouping of players at the back post like this.
screenshot 2025 11 20T223004.952
From here, one of two things will happen: either they will stay at the back post, where they have a numerical advantage, or those players will make a run across the six-yard box to the near post.
You can see here the first goal they scored against Burnley: everyone stayed at the back post, Declan Rice delivered a perfect ball that was sent back across the six-yard box to Viktor Gyökeres for a tap-in.
Try TFA Risk Free For 7 Days
Full Access To TFA Articles
New Content 7 Days
Expert Insights
TFA Podcast Access
7 Day Free Trial
Money Back Guarantee