Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes of Brazil reacts as he is substituted after suffering an injury during the International Friendly between Brazil and Senegalplaceholder image
Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes of Brazil reacts as he is substituted after suffering an injury during the International Friendly between Brazil and Senegal | Getty Images
Arsenal take on Tottenham Hotspur with the chance to go seven points clear at the top of the Premier League
The first North London derby of the season is upon us as Arsenal host Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal have been the best side in the opening weeks of the season, as they have lost just one game which came in late August against Liverpool.
They drew 2-2 with Sunderland before the international break but that was only their second draw of the season. However, Arsenal have the chance to go seven points clear of City if they beat Spurs. Chelsea are now second after their win over Burnley.
For Tottenham, they have picked up 18 points from their first 11 games but have proven to be inconsistent so far under Thomas Frank. They have been a tough prospect away from home and will hope to disrupt the Gunners' title hopes on Sunday.
Gabriel injury latest
Key Arsenal defender Gabriel was injured during the international break as he was forced off in Brazil's 2-0 win over Senegal at Emirates Stadium.
He is not expected to play a part against Spurs, as Mikel Arteta said in his pre-match press conference: "Gabi unfortunately picked up an injury with the Brazil national team and he's going to be out for weeks. We need to have another scan next Wednesday, and we'll have the timeline probably much clearer than we have at the moment.
"It's clearly a blow because he's our leader in our backline and, to me, it's never a positive thing. The good thing is that we have very good options and we need to stand up now and do the job."
Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres did not go on international duty and are unlikely to play a part. Riccardo Calafiori is another who could be absent.
What else has Mikel Arteta said ahead of Arsenal v Tottenham
On the game, he said: “It’s just different. It's a big city, but it's a big rivalry; it's a part of London that we want to conquer, and they want to do the same. There's been a lot of shifts as well over the years, we've been more dominant, and it's just beautiful, especially when we play at home in front of our people.
“We know what it means to them and the energy that they're going to bring, the energy that the team is going to bring in every single action and it's just a privilege to play those kind of games, we cannot wait to get to Sunday.
Looking at Spurs, Arteta added: “Well I think every game is very different and in the same season as well depending on the momentum of each team the games are very, very different. I think Thomas has brought something very different to what they had before as well.
“And you just have to see it as his record and how remarkable a job he did in his previous club. And he's given a very clear identity to the team, how they want to play, how they want to compete and it will be very tough.”
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