Game week 4 of the Premier League closes out with an epic battle as Arsenal and Tottenham renew their long-standing rivalry at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in the first north London derby of the season.
Both sides will be going into this game off the back of a defeat, with the Gunners losing 3-1 away to Liverpool, while Spurs suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Newcastle.
In both league meetings last season, we saw a player sent off. In Arsenal’s 4-2 win at the Emirates, Jan Vertonghen received two yellow cards leading to an early bath, and Lucas Torreira was shown a straight red in the 1-1 draw at Wembley.
The derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in the league. It is filled with quality, passion, hatred and a bundle of drama. To say that there will be fireworks would be a massive understatement, and this is one game you cannot miss, irrespective if you support either team or not.
Both sides will be desperate to claim three points which comes with pride and bragging rights.
Who will come out on top? Find out what our Editor thinks.
To Win
Arsenal 29/20
Draw 26/10
Tottenham 7/4
Arsenal
Arsenal took four points from their two Premier League meetings with Tottenham last term, but still finished one point adrift of them in fifth place – the third successive season they have ended below their neighbours.
And while Arsenal were competing in the Europa League final last season, their bitter rivals were playing in the Champions League final, underlining the fact that the pendulum has swung in Spurs’ favour. Unai Emery’s tasks will be to make his side compete with the top clubs in the Premier League and the Arsenal faithful will want to regain the upper hand against their bitter enemies, Tottenham.
Since leaving Highbury for the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have lost just one league game at home against Spurs, winning eight times with four draws from 13 games, per Soccerway. The Gunners have beaten Spurs at home in their last two seasons and Emery will be confident his side can extend that winning run.
Emery will look to his deadly attacking trio of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe to wreak havoc on their rivals. With Dani Ceballos the main creator, he will look to unlock the Spurs defence with his vision and passing.
But key to Arsenal’s chances will be their defence. The centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos will need to be focused, particularly Luiz after his horror show at Anfield, while Sead Kolasinac – expected to replace the departing Nacho Monreal – and Ainsley Maitland-Niles will need to be more cautious when bombing forward.
Tottenham
Tottenham made an impressive start to the season, recording a 3-1 win at home to newcomers Aston Villa and held reigning league champions Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium (with the help of VAR). Mauricio Pochettino’s side looked to be real title challengers, but their hopes suffered a setback as they lost 1-0 at home to Newcastle, who had lost their opening two games of the campaign.
Pochettino’s side face another tough trip this week as they travel to the Emirates Stadium where they’ve won just once from 13 Premier League games. That victory came in the 2010/11 campaign when Spurs won 3-2 thanks to a late goal from Younes Kaboul. That side, coached by Harry Redknapp, had some top players such as now Real Madrid duo Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.
But as talented as that team was, this Spurs side are far better with quality in every department, while the likes of Kane, Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen would probably get into any team in world football.
Pochettino will know his side have to be at their best if they are to come away with a positive result at the Emirates. They did manage to win there last season, claiming a 2-0 victory in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, with goals from Son and Dele Alli. So, they’ll be confident of getting a victory. And after leaving the Etihad with a point, Pochettino’s side will be fearless going into Sunday’s north London derby.
Kane has scored in each of the last three Premier League meetings against Arsenal and will look to produce the goods up front and give his side a famous win at the Emirates. The likes of Son, Eriksen and Giovani Lo Celso also offer goalscoring threat.
Probable line-ups:
Arsenal: 4-2-3-1
Leno; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Torreira; Pepe, Ceballos, Aubameyang; Lacazette.
Tottenham: 4-3-3
Lloris; Walker-Peters, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Sissoko, Winks, Lo Celso; Son, Lucas, Kane.
Prediction: Matchbet & Both Teams to Score – Arsenal & Yes (26/10)
I’m expecting a cracking contest between two attacking teams. I think it will be a very close affair but with home advantage and the fact that Arsenal have beaten Spurs at home in the last two seasons, I’m backing the Gunners to come out on top. I suggest using the Matchbet & Both Teams to Score market and taking Arsenal & Yes at 26/10.
Chad Nagel
You might like to check out our Soccer / Football App
