Micky van de Ven Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Spurs

The final Spurs vs Arsenal derby of the season will be played on Thursday night and this North London Derby will be more significant than any of the ones in recent memory.

The Gunners and Tottenham are both fighting for the fourth place on the Premier League table and whoever wins this week will have a massive advantage in grabbing that final Champions League spot.

If Arsenal can pick up all three points they will move seven points clear of fifth-placed Spurs but if Antonio Conte’s side can grab a win then they will once again come within touching distance of their local rivals. A win for Spurs won’t be enough for them to topple Arsenal from the fourth position but Mikel Arteta and his players will come under massive pressure for the remaining couple of matches.

Before this key Spurs vs Arsenal tie, we decided to take a look at three major battles across the pitch that could potentially shape the outcome on Thursday night.

Spurs vs Arsenal: 3 key battles to keep an eye on

Harry Kane & Son vs Ben White and Gabriel:

Harry Kane and Son have been the saviours for Spurs this season as well and without their goals, Tottenham would have been a mid-season table at best.

Son has netted 20 league goals this season while Harry Kane has scored 13 so the Arsenal defenders will have to be on their toes this week. Ben White will hopefully recover from his injury and be fit to make a comeback so he along with Gabriel will be the key for Arsenal to pick up a win.

This defensive pairing looked really shaky during the start of the season but they have managed to get their act together as the campaign has rolled along. If these two can pull out their A-game then the Gunners will have a great shot at winning, otherwise, Kane and Son will rip the Arsenal defence into shreds.

Kulusevski vs Tomiyasu:

Nuno Tavares has been really average at left-back so last weekend, the manager had used Tomiyasu in that role. The summer signing did more than a decent job despite playing out of position so Mikel Arteta is expected to keep him in that same role for the Spurs vs Arsenal game as well.

This though will be a major risk because Kulusevski is in the form of his life right now.

Signing joining Spurs on loan in January, he has scored three and assisted eight goals in just 15 Premier League games so pitching him against Tomiyasu will be a major gamble.

Kulusevski even caused several issues for Andy Robertson so if the Arsenal full-back is not careful then the 22-year-old will run riot on the right flank.

Mikel Arteta will be very much aware of the potential risks but we have a feeling that he will still opt for Tomiyasu in that role, rather than put his faith in Nuno Tavares.

Taking control of the midfield:

The Spurs vs Arsenal game will possibly tip in favour of whichever side can take control of the middle of the pitch and in this regard, the Lilywhites have a slender advantage.

Elneny and Xhaka have done really well as a pair but Hojbjerg and Bentancur are much more composed and authoritative in that area. We think the Arsenal manager will, for the first time, miss Thomas Partey and it will possibly be Spurs who will take control of the midfield.

Hojbjerg and Bentacur had an outstanding game against a Liverpool side whose midfield consisted of players like Fabinho and Thiago so we are more than certain that they will have the edge in the Spurs vs Arsenal encounter as well.

Read: Arsenal’s predicted line up vs Spurs.

Read: Here’s how Spurs could line up against the Gunners in the North London Derby.