After their impressive win away to Bournemouth, Arsenal’s next Premier League challenge is one of their toughest as they welcome Tottenham to the Emirates for the north London derby.
Both sides will fancy their chances of claiming not only the three points, but also the local bragging rights that will be on offer.
Here are the main talking points around what is sure to be an excellent game.
FORM
Both sides come into the game in decent form, which should make for an exciting encounter.
Arsenal were disappointed to draw with Crystal Palace and Wolves but they were impressive against Bournemouth and looked decent when drawing against Liverpool too.
Spurs totally dominated Chelsea last weekend and have recovered well since losing at home to Man City as they’ve won five straight games in all competitions.
Spurs sit in third place in the Premier League table, three points above the Gunners, but a win for the home side will see them leapfrog their opponents on goal difference.
RECENT HISTORY
Both sides won the home derbies last season, Arsenal’s 2-0 victory in November was their first against Spurs in four games.
However, Tottenham have not won an away league game against the Gunners since 2010, when they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2, with Younès Kaboul scoring a late winner.
BETTING
The Read Arsenal betting tips are split when it comes to picking winners from the game, with most of us sitting on the fence and selecting a draw.
What does look certain is that both teams will score a goal as they both come into the match in good from in terms of getting on the scoresheet.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is currently the joint top scorer in the division, having needed eight times so far this season, with Harry Kane just one goal back on seven. Backing both to continue their good form in front of goal would make sense as neither defence on show has looked unbeatable, and both are world class finishers.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
Alexandre Lacazette missed the win over Bournemouth due to a groin injury and as such, we don’t think he’ll be risked from the start, even if he is fit. The Gunners used a back five last time out, but we think Unai Emery will revert to using a back four with Sokratis dropping to the bench in favour of the more attacking Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal: Leno, Bellerín, Mustafi, Holding, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Aubameyang.
After hammering Chelsea, it would be a surprise to see too many changes from Spurs, unless they pick up any injuries between now and Sunday. However, we do think Jan Vertonghen will come back in for such a big game.
Tottenham: Lloris, Aurier, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Davies, Dier, Sissoko, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane
PREDICTION
This is such a tough game to call and in truth not many results would be a complete shock but we think the game will end all square, which will likely please Spurs more than it will the Gunners.
