Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the new season as they went down 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. And next up they welcome eternal rivals Spurs to the Emirates.
The Gunners currently sit third on the league table with six points while Spurs have slipped down to seventh after losing their previous league match to Newcastle United.
Arsenal were hoping to go into this match with their tails up but the loss to Liverpool has certainly proved to be a minor setback to Unai Emery’s plans. But thankfully not all has been lost since Spurs too are humbled after their rather shocking loss to the Magpies at home.
Arsenal news vs Tottenham Hotspur:
The biggest Arsenal news will be the participation of Mesut Ozil and Rob Holding with many reports claiming the duo could make a return back to the first XI this weekend.
Ozil has been on the sidelines ever since the start of the new season and the official statement is that he is not fit enough to start. But with three weeks passed, fans and pundits feel this is the right time to bring the playmaker back into the fold – especially after being humiliated by Liverpool.
This though will easier be said than done since bringing in Ozil would mean the manager will have to bench one of his forwards and this is something that might not go down too well with the fans.
Emery has been receiving a lot of hate for taking a defensive route to the Liverpool game and since Arsenal will host Spurs, the onus will be on them to be attack-minded which is hint enough that Mesut Ozil might sit this one out as well.
Rob Holding has not featured for the Gunners ever since he picked up an injury last season but in recent weeks he has returned back to training and many believe the defender could be named on the bench vs Spurs.
Full-backs Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin are both making good recoveries but the duo are still a few weeks away from making their first-team appearances.
This means Nacho Monreal and Maitland-Niles will play as the left and right full-back respectively vs Tottenham on Sunday.
Alexandre Lacazette was dropped to the bench vs Liverpool but given Arsenal will be playing at home, the Frenchman is expected to lead the line with Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe operating down the wings.
Dani Ceballos had a muted game at Anfield which maybe was the reality check he needed before going into the North London Derby. While some rumours claim that he could be dropped but we think otherwise.
Arsenal predicted line-up vs Spurs:
Starting XI: Leno; Monreal, David Luiz, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles; Xhaka, Guendouzi, Dani Ceballos; Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Lacazette.
