Tottenham Hotspur  vs Arsenal: Preview, Key Battles, and Prediction

There are few games in the premier league as anticipated and exciting than the North London Derby. Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal over the years has delivered a lot of classic games, from the goals to the hard tackles and the controversies; you always expect a thriller from this fixture.

In the past three seasons, Spurs vs Gunners as they are fondly called have delivered an average of 3.6 goals per game. There is never a dull moment in this fixture.

Tottenham have had a shaky start to the season in Ange Postecoglou’s second year in charge. Which is rather not what he wanted after saying that he always wins something in his second season. They have started the season with a win, a draw, and a loss. This game against Arsenal will provide them the perfect opportunity after the international break to get a statement win and hopefully kickstart their season. 

Arsenal on the other hand have had a mixed start to the season. Arteta’s men still look like the only team that can truly challenge Pep Guardiola’s well-oiled City. The game at Brighton was rather unfortunate the way it ended with Rice’s red card tilting the game against them. But Arsenal knows that if they are going to win their first league title in nearly 20 years there is no room for complacency.

Arsenal will be looking to continue their dominance of their North London rivals in recent years, having won 4, drawn 1, and lost 1 of their last 6 PL meetings. The last time Arsenal lost to Spurs was in the second leg of the 2021/2022 season at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where 2 first-half goals from Harry Kane and a third from Son condemned the Gunners to defeat after Rob Holding’s first-half red card. 

Team News 

Tottenham

From his pre-match press conference, Postecoglou confirmed that Richarlison is still sidelined and will not be available for selection. Will Lankshear is the other player also confirmed not to be available for selection. Yves Bissouma availability is a doubt having returned from international duty with an issue. Club record signing Dominic Solanke remains a doubt after picking up a knock in their opening game of the season against Leicester City.

On the positive side, Micky van de Ven has returned to full training and is now an option for selection. He got injured in the game against Everton and missed the next match against Newcastle. The international break couldn’t have come at any better time for Micky.

Predicted line-up

4-3-3: Vicario; Udogie, v.d Ven, Romero, Porro; Bissouma, Maddison, Sarr; Son, Solanke, Kulusevski.

Arsenal

As a result of the red card against Brighton, Declan Rice will miss this game. How much of an impact this will have on the way Arsenal lines up we will have to wait. Martin Odegaard is also ruled out for this game having picked up an injury while on international duty for Norway. The period he’ll be on the sidelines is yet to be confirmed as Arteta revealed in his pre-match press conference that more tests were needed to determine the extent of the injury.

Summer signings Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori are still in doubt. Merino is out with a shoulder injury while Calafiori got a knock on international duty with Italy but returned to Arsenal training and there is hope Gabriel Jesus will be available for selection again after missing the last two games with a groin issue.

Predicted line-up

4-3-3: Raya; White, Saliba, Magalhães, Timber; Partey, Joginho, Vieira; Martinelli, Havertz, Saka

Key Battles

One thing you will always expect in this game is goals. It always rains goals when these two sides play. The key battles in the game will be majorly on the flanks. Arsenal’s partnership of Saliba and Magalhães is not looking like they are slowing down anytime soon. They have started the season in fine form as well. Arsenal have kept clean sheets in two of their three games so far and Raya will be a contender for the golden glove at the end of the season.

Tottenham will be looking up to their talisman Son to provide the goods. He scored twice in the game against Everton but failed to find the net in the other games so far. New man Solanke will be looking to get first his goal for the Spurs and there is no better game to do it than against their bitter rivals. This game promises a lot of fireworks.

Saka vs Udogie

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Bukayo Saka has started the season in great form providing 3 assists and scoring a goal in the league opener. The last thing you want as a defender is having a winger like Saka running down your flank. Saka has become a nightmare for PL defenders with his dribbling and direct runs. He has also added goals to his games and Udogie will know well not to go forward too much.

Bissouma vs Partey

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With the absence of Rice and Odegaard, Partey will be tasked with providing steel in the Arsenal’s midfield. Yves Bissouma has been a great addition to the Spurs midfield too and Postecoglou will be hoping he shakes off his knock and delivers in the middle of the park. Arteta’s style of play means that Arsenal will want to have most of the balls and Bissouma needs to win more balls to initiate counter-attacks for Spurs.

Son vs Saliba

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Son’s ability in front of goal is without doubt. Whether he is playing a central role or running in from the flanks, Arsenal’s backline will have to watch him carefully. I am expecting Tottenham to cede possession to Arsenal and try to catch them on the break. And Son will be crucial if Tottenham are going to get anything from this game. His relentless run will cause Arsenal all sorts of problems.  

Arsenal’s backline will also have to be careful when playing out from the back to avoid errors leading to goals. And with a striker like Son lurking around, you have little margins for error.

Prediction

Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 2 Arsenal

The only reason I am not going for an Arsenal win is the absence of Rice and Odegaard. Arsenal are a much better side when those two are on the pitch. So for me, they will be a big miss for Arsenal. Rice’s influence on Arsenal’s style of play is so important, you could see how vulnerable they looked immediately after he was sent off against Brighton.

For Tottenham, they will be hoping to use this game as the turnaround point for them going forward but I still don’t think they have what it takes to beat Arteta’s men in this game going by recent performances.