Liverpool lost to Everton in midweek which was great news for Arsenal who are currently sitting at the top of the table but in order to hold onto that spot, they will have to beat Tottenham this weekend.
Arsenal have 77 points against their name while Manchester City are one point behind them having played one game less. This means if the Gunners cannot win the North London Derby then like Liverpool, they might also fall out of the Premier League title race.
The Gunners have dropped points in just two out of their previous 14 league matches but in their last five outings, they have managed to win just twice. Arsenal have a pretty solid recent record against their arch-rivals however they were held to a 2-2 draw by Spurs at the Emirates in the reverse fixture back in September.
Even though this is an away game, Arsenal will be very much the favourites to win because anything other than a win and Man City will have the chance to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table.
Arsenal’s team news and injuries:
Jurrien Timber has returned to training but the manager has made it clear that he is still not ready to play.
“We have to make that decision tomorrow after the training session,” Mikel said on Timber’s fitness. “He’s very close, I don’t know if this is too early, but he’s very close now.”
Apart from Timber, Mikel Arteta has a fully-fit squad for Derby Day so he is not going to make any unnecessary changes to the starting XI that took the field against Chelsea in the 5-0 win.
The manager seems to have lost his faith in Zinchenko as he has preferred Kiwior or Tomiyasu in the left-back role and for the weekend, Tomiyasu is going to start once again.
Thomas Partey returned to the starting line up and he put up a solid performance vs Chelsea but for the derby, Jorginho will be pushing for a start. Jorginho is not blessed with pace which might be a problem against the likes of Maddison and Son so the Arsenal manager might rely on Partey in the middle of the pitch once again.
Leandro Trossard was selected ahead of Martinelli in the 5-0 win and he was one of the best players on the pitch for Arsenal, scoring the opener. Martinelli has been the preferred left-winger this season but after the fine display vs Chelsea, Trossard is likely to hold onto his place in the first XI.
The win against Chelsea was a proper statement of intent but Arsenal will have to go and do it all over again this weekend. If they fail to beat Tottenham then the 24 league wins this season will culminate to absolutely nothing.
Arsenal predicted line up vs Tottenham:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): David Raya; Ben White, Gabriel, Saliba, Tomiyasu; Odegaard, Thomas Partey/Jorginho, Declan Rice; Saka, Kai Havertz, Trossard.
