HomeTeams - PLArsenalArsenal v Tottenham Preview | Team News, Key Men & Predictions

Arsenal v Tottenham Preview | Team News, Key Men & Predictions

Arsenal come into this North London derby in need of a bounce back. They lost 3-1 to Liverpool last weekend and will need a good result to avoid going into the international break on a significant low. A loss to arch-rivals Tottenham would put a real sour note on the beginning of the season. They’ll need to be at their best to avoid that result and keep themselves near the top of the table.

Tottenham have struggled to begin the season. They were able to get four points from their matches against Aston Villa and Manchester City, but did not look entirely convincing against Villa and were outplayed by City. Last week they lost at home to relegation contenders Newcastle United. They’ll need to improve massively from that performance if they are to beat Arsenal at the Emirates.

Team News

Arsenal will continue to be without Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos through long term injuries, according to Physioroom.com. Kieran Tierney is also expected to be out until September, while Mesut Ozil has a chance to make the squad for the first time this season, according to Physioroom.com.

Tottenham will be without Juan Foyth, Ryan Sessegnon, Kyle Walker-Peters and Tanguy Ndombele, according to Physioroom.com. They may also be without Dele Alli and Eric Dier, according to Physioroom.com.

Key Players

Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Arsenal have struggled to create shots as a team, but Aubameyang has been a bright spot in that area. He has averaged three shots a game this season. He performed against Tottenham at the Emirates last season, with one goal from open play, one from the penalty spot and four shots overall.

The Gabon international has struggled in games against the top six, with four goals in 14 matches against the Premier League’s top six since the beginning of last season. Last season’s performance against Spurs was his best top six performance in that period and he’ll hope he can repeat that on Sunday.

Tottenham: Christian Eriksen

Tottenham slogged their way through the first 60 minutes of the matches against Villa and Newcastle and found themselves 1-0 down in both. Eriksen came on around the 60-minute mark in both and the team improved. It was enough against Villa, it wasn’t against Newcastle. If Spurs are a much better team with the Dane on the pitch and he needs to be out there for them to reach their highest level. Without him, they are no longer a lock for the top three and maybe not even the top four. He changes the equation for Spurs to the extent that they really need to get his situation resolved and resolved quickly.

Prediction

This is one of those fixtures where any result is possible in any given match. Arsenal are the marginal favourite, given that they are at home, the Eriksen situation and the absence of Ndombele, but Spurs have every shot to win this match.

Prediction: 2-1 Arsenal

thejerseyfitz
thejerseyfitz
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