Arsenal and Tottenham will rekindle their fierce rivalry on Saturday as the Gunners welcome Spurs to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal went into the international break with a 3-1 loss to Manchester City, dropping them to sixth in the table. A win on Saturday would move the Gunners only one point behind their North London rivals, but their recent record against Tottenham is quite poor. Arsenal have not won against Spurs in the league since March 2014 and lost 2-0 in their last meeting.
Spurs’ victory over Crystal Palace before the international break sent them into third, behind Manchester United only on goal difference. They have not won at the Emirates since November 2010, but they have started well away from Wembley this season, with four wins and only one loss in their first five away matches.
Team News
Arsenal will be without Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla for this match, but Danny Welbeck, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi, and David Ospina could all be available, according to Physioroom.com.
Spurs will be without Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama, and Erik Lamela with various long term injuries. They are likely to have Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Harry Winks, and Hugo Lloris back fit though, according to Physioroom.com.
Key Players
Arsenal: Granit Xhaka
Arsenal struggle with high pressing teams and Spurs are one of the best pressing teams in the Premier League. For them to succeed in this match, Xhaka will need to show a level of press resistance that he doesn’t usually show. Xhaka’s ability to spray balls out to the wing backs could help spread Tottenham out and ruin their compactness, but he will have to avoid being pressed into giving the ball away and exposing Arsenal’s defence.
Tottenham: Harry Kane
Kane has a phenomenal record against Arsenal with six goals in his last five league appearances against them. He’s started the season with eight goals in 10 league matches, and he’ll look to continue both of those records and get his first ever win at the Emirates Stadium.
Prediction
Arsenal have been unable to beat Spurs for a while now, but they are very good at the Emirates, so they likely won’t lose either. If they aren’t going to win and they aren’t going to lose, that leaves a draw as the result.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
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