Here’s a preview and prediction for Sunday’s Premier League clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Will Tottenham or Arsenal take home the bragging rights in this highly anticipated north London derby?
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Preview
The Premier League resumes after the season’s first international break, with Sunday’s marquee match set to deliver as Tottenham host Arsenal.
This season’s first north London derby comes on the heels of underwhelming Matchday 3 results for both teams. Arsenal dropped early points to Manchester City and Liverpool after being held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion.
Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs suffered a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United, leaving them three points behind Arsenal in the standings.
Despite Tottenham dominating with 20 shots to Newcastle’s nine, 65.7% possession, and almost matching Newcastle’s overall pass count (235 to 261), they couldn’t capitalize. The frustrating ‘Spursy’ label persists, with their failure to convert dominance into wins also seen in a Matchday 1 draw at Leicester City.
The north London derby is often a litmus test for Spurs’ resilience, and they will need to tighten up in a fixture where clean sheets have been rare.
The Arsenal vs Tottenham fixture holds the record for the most matches in Premier League history where both teams have scored (43 times). It’s also the game where the team scoring first has failed to win more often than any other, with 29 instances (19 draws and 10 losses).
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is hopeful that Micky van de Ven will recover from a knee injury ahead of Sunday’s clash, while midfielder Yves Bissouma and striker Dominic Solanke are also fitness concerns.
If Solanke is unable to shake off the ankle injury that has sidelined him for Spurs’ last two games, captain Son Heung-min could take on a central striking role. Son has scored eight goals against Arsenal in all competitions—only Harry Kane (14), Emmanuel Adebayor (10), and Bobby Smith (10) have scored more goals in the history of the north London derby.
Arsenal dropped their first points of the season in their recent match against Brighton. However, the bigger concern may be the dismissal of Declan Rice, who received a second yellow card for delaying the game early in the second half.
Rice’s first-ever Premier League red card, coming in his 245th appearance, leaves Mikel Arteta with a significant selection issue in midfield. Last season, Rice started 37 of Arsenal’s 38 Premier League games, coming off the bench in the other. His reliability was evident, with his 3,230 minutes of play in 2023-24 surpassed by only eight other outfield players, including teammate William Saliba, who played the full 3,420.
Rice’s presence in midfield brought Arsenal stability, with the team conceding the joint-fourth fewest fast breaks (23) and the joint-fifth fewest shots from fast breaks (20) in the Premier League last season.
Rice’s absence could prove even more significant with captain Martin Ødegaard also unavailable. The influential attacking midfielder sustained an ankle injury during international duty and is expected to be sidelined for around three weeks.
Thomas Partey and Jorginho, who are likely to fill the gap in midfield, will face a Spurs side known for their quick transitions. Players like Son Heung-min, Wilson Odobert, and Brennan Johnson will be eager to exploit the space left by Rice’s absence.
Last season, Tottenham scored three goals from 25 fast breaks in the Premier League, averaging a goal every 8.3 fast breaks. Only eight teams scored more frequently from such situations.
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Head-to-Head
Tottenham have struggled in recent meetings with Arsenal, losing five of their last seven Premier League encounters (one win, one draw). This is more defeats than they had in their previous 16 matches against their rivals (six wins, six draws, and four losses).
Additionally, Arsenal have won their last two Premier League visits to Tottenham, matching the number of victories they had in their previous 17 trips (six draws, nine defeats).
The Gunners haven’t won three consecutive away north London derbies since a stretch between January 1987 and September 1988.
Draws are uncommon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which has the lowest percentage of draws (9%, 9 out of 101 games) in Premier League history, suggesting that a shared result may be unlikely.
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Team News
Tottenham: Team News
Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke are set to be available for the match against Arsenal.
There were worries about both players after they missed the 2-1 defeat to Newcastle before the international break—Van de Ven due to a knee issue and £65 million summer signing Solanke with an ankle problem.
However, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou provided a hopeful update on Friday, stating: “It’s fairly positive. Micky’s good, he’s trained all the way through the international break and it was good for him to stay with us to build him back up so he’s ready to go.”
“Dom has improved as well and trained the back half of this week. We still have two days to go with those guys so hopefully they get through training ok and are available.”
Spurs, however, could be without Yves Bissouma, who picked up a groin injury while on international duty with Mali.
Postecoglou said: “We had the last of the boys in late [on Thursday] so we’ll have a look at them today and everyone’s reporting all well except for Biss. He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.”
“It’s not serious, but he’s getting treatment today. We’ll see how it goes.”
“It’s a tweak in his groin. The initial reports is it’s not serious which means there is a chance for Sunday, which tells me it’s nothing significant.”
“If he doesn’t make Sunday, then I’ll assume he’ll be right for after that. At the same time, he’s just come off a long flight, you never feel great anyway, we’ll see how he trains tomorrow and that will give the best indication.”
Strikers Richarlison and Will Lankshear are unavailable for selection.
Injuries/Doubtful: Richarlison, Lankshear, Bissouma
Tottenham: Predicted Lineup
- Goalkeeper: Vicario
- Defenders: Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie
- Midfielders: Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison
- Forwards: Son, Odobert, Kulusevski
Arsenal: Team News
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is anticipated to return to fitness in time for the North London Derby against Tottenham.
The Brazilian has been sidelined for Arsenal’s last two matches due to a groin injury.
However, Jesus has resumed training and is hopeful of being included in the squad for Sunday’s visit to Spurs.
“Gabi was out there [training],” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said on Friday afternoon.
“He’s got another session tomorrow and if everything goes well he’ll be ready to be selected in the squad which is great news for us.”
Arsenal are likely to be without captain Martin Ødegaard, who injured his ankle while playing for Norway on Monday night.
“We need some more tests,” Arteta said on Friday. “Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. Let’s see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back. He’s super positive about everything. Martin wants to be here every day, but we have to wait and see.”
When asked about his optimism regarding the prognosis, Arteta replied, “I’ll leave that to the doctor.”
“[Odegaard]’s willing and he wants to be present in every game, especially a big game like this one. We need to make sure we know first how good he can be or not. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens.”
Riccardo Calafiori, who sustained an injury while playing for Italy during the international break, is also a doubt.
Mikel Merino (shoulder), Kieran Tierney (hamstring), and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are all expected to miss the game.
These fitness concerns, coupled with Declan Rice’s suspension, may compel Arteta to adjust his formation. Rice was sent off in Arsenal’s last match against Brighton, leaving the team short on midfield options.
Jorginho and Thomas Partey might start together for only the third time, potentially operating as a double pivot in front of the defense.
Injured: Merino (shoulder), Tierney (hamstring), Tomiyasu (knee)
Arsenal: Predicted Lineup
- Goalkeeper: David Raya
- Defenders: White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber
- Midfielders: Partey, Jorginho, Trossard
- Forwards: Saka, Martinelli, Havertz
Tottenham vs Arsenal: Prediction
Arsenal have recently had the edge in north London derbies, and we consider them slight favorites, even without the advantage of playing at home.
Prediction: 1-1