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Fixture: Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur
Competition: Premier League
Kick-off: 23rd November, 16:30 UK time
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will return from the international break by jumping straight into a north London derby at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s side have earned comparisons to George Graham’s vintage of the 80s and 90s through their defensive parsimony and set-piece dominance. Arteta, nearing six years as Arsenal manager, will also want to have some of the success Graham’s side, league champions in 1989 and 1991, achieved.
Arsenal have won five of their last six Premier League games against Tottenham and lost just once in their last 32, with the reversal coming in November 2010. Arsenal have also scored in each of their last 26 Premier League home games against Tottenham, and have remarkably netted at least twice in each of the last eight.
The Gunners have an excellent defensive record at home, only conceding once in eight games in all competitions at the Emirates Stadium this season, with Erling Haaland netting for Manchester City in a 1-1 draw in September. Arsenal have won their last five at the Emirates, and have a chance to equal a record six wins in a row without conceding, achieved between April and September 2008.
More goals from set pieces, excluding penalties, both overall with ten and as a percentage, 50 percentage, have come for Arsenal than any other side in the Premier League this season.
With Manchester City breathing down their neck, Arsenal will want to keep winning, with memories of the 2023/24 season and especially the 2022/23 campaign, when they led the division for a record 248 days, still fresh in the memory.
Gabriel is out for Arsenal after suffering an injury with Brazil, while Martin Odegaard is nearing a return to action.
Spurs enter the clash joint-fifth with Aston Villa, Liverpool, Bournemouth and Manchester United. Their season has been stop-start, not managing to string together more than two wins in a row, but equally not going more than games without a win.
All three of their losses have come at home, but hearteningly for Tottenham their away record has been stellar, being the only Premier League side to be undefeated on the road with four wins and a draw.
The Lilywhites are also the ones to have conceded the fewest, at 2, set piece goals this season, creating an intriguing game within a game this afternoon.
Thomas Frank might be without Randal Kolo Muani, who fractured his jaw after taking an elbow from Harry Maguire, but can look forward to welcoming Mohammed Kudus back into the side.
Predicted Lineups
Arsenal Tottenham Hotspur
Raya Vicario
Timber Porro
Saliba Romero
Hincapie Van de Ven
Calafiori Spence
Zubimendi Palhinha
Rice Sarr
Eze Richarlison
Saka Simons
Merino Kudus
Trossard Tel
Recent Form (league)
Arsenal: DWWWW
Tottenham Hotspur: DLWLW
Key Men
Arsenal
William Saliba will have to step up and commandeer the Gunners defence in Gabriel’s absence, being the senior partner to Piero Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquerao or Riccardo Calafiori, if Arteta opts to move the Italian in from left back.
Eberechi Eze is in fine nick and can add salt to the injury to the side he was close to joining, before Arsenal swooped into hijack.
Leandro Trossard is the man in form and with Bukayo Saka yet to hit top form, Arsenal will rely on him to break the deadlock and to probe Spurs’ defence.
Tottenham Hotspur
Joao Palhinha has positively surprised since his return to the Premier League and will be key in soaking up pressure. It is also vital that he does not concede any unnecessary set pieces to Arsenal.
Mohammed Kudus leads Spurs for expected assists, 1.3 xG, and chances created, 15, in the Premier League this season, while only Richarlison with 19 has had more shots than Kudus with 17. Kudus is key at keeping hold of the ball on breaks and to mount effective counters.
Mathys Tel might get an unexpected opportunity to start, that is if Frank chooses not to field a masked up Kolo Muani, and can further his own chances of nailing down a starting spot with a strong performance against derby rivals.
Result Competition
Arsenal 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur Friendly
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Arsenal Premier League
Match Prediction
Thomas Frank might be tempted to play three at the back to soak up Arsenal’s pressure and try and win it late on or on the counter.
Frustrating Arsenal might be the strategy to turn to for Frank, given Spurs’ recent struggles to create going forward.
By limiting chances for Arsenal from set pieces, which Frank is already focused on, Spurs can cut Arsenal’s chances of scoring by half.
In four of their last five meetings against Arsenal, a Tottenham player has scored an own goal which has given the Gunners the lead.
This Arsenal team can have issues with breaking down opponents when the game is goalless, and Spurs will be wise to avoid any individual errors.
Since the start of last season, Arsenal have won 61.5 per cent of their Premier League matches with Gabriel in the starting lineup, but that win rate drops to 40.0 per cent without him, with a marked increase in the rate at which they draw games.
While Frank might cudgel his brain over how to overcome Arsenal, the Dane’s best chance of obtaining a result from this game might involve relying on counters, pressure from a Manchester City result and a bit of luck, reminding himself of the underdog status he so relished during his time with Brentford.
Inside Futbol Score Prediction
Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Where To Watch?
Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League will be live on Sky Sports Main Event for a 16:30 kick-off in the UK.