There’s rarely a dull moment when the north London rivals meet, with Arsenal hosting Tottenham at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
Far superior Spurs teams have not been able to triumph in the home game of their arch-rivals in the Premier League since coming from behind to win 3-2 in 2010, but Ange Postecoglou’s team must sense the vulnerability at Arsenal ahead of this meeting.
The Gunners have struggled in the absence of Bukayo Saka and go into the derby having lost to Newcastle and Manchester United in two separate domestic cup competitions. Their inability to capitalize on opportunities has led to their recent downfall and they need to find a solution in the January transfer window to get their season back on track.
A defeat here could all but end their Premier League title hopes.
A series of injuries have weakened Tottenham’s season, but they are still going strong in three cup competitions. Wins over Liverpool and Tamworth, even if they took far too long to get the job done on Sunday, mean that the mood in Ange’s camp is good and they can play on Wednesday without any inhibitions, having played for very little in the season Play Premier League for money.
A poor record in the competition means they currently sit 12th in the table – 16 points behind Arsenal.
Here is 90 minutes Guide to Wednesday’s North London Derby.
Arsenal vs Tottenham H2H results (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
arsenal | Tottenham |
|---|---|
Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Man Utd – 12/01/25 | Tamworth 0-3 (AET) Tottenham – 12/01/25 |
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 01/07/25 | Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool – 08/01/25 |
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 01/04/25 | Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle – 01/04/25 |
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/01/25 | Tottenham 2-2 Wolves – 12/29/24 |
Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich – 12/27/24 | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham – 12/26/24 |
country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Discovery+, Discovery+ App, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate |
United States | peacock |
Canada | fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Arsenal’s injury problems worsened at the weekend when Gabriel Jesus tore his cruciate ligament in the FA Cup defeat to Man Utd.
Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt after missing Sunday’s cup game with a muscle injury. Myles Lewis-Skelly will be deployed at left-back when the Italy international is unfit. Jorginho and Jurrien Timber were also substituted against United, but both are expected to be fine for Spurs’ visit.
The hosts will still be without Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Predicted line-up for Arsenal vs Tottenham (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli.
It seems as if the Spurs side have survived the frozen 4G Tamworth pitch, although Postecoglou is still struggling with a number of absences.
The Australian coach could welcome Richarlison and Ben Davies back to the matchday squad on Wednesday, but Tottenham will still be without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie.
Rodrigo Bentancur suffered a concussion in last week’s 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and is unlikely to be out of action for too long after missing Sunday’s cup win.
Antonin Kinsky’s third appearance for the club comes in the North London Derby. The young Czech goalkeeper has shown nothing but security between the posts so far.
Predicted line-up for Tottenham vs Arsenal (4-3-3): Kinsky; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, son.
Arsenal’s inefficiency in front of goal can no longer be seen as a run of bad luck for the Gunners. It’s a question of ability. They no longer have any “killers” in the final third, especially without Saka.
However, they continue to have impressive control of games and should be able to thrive against Tottenham’s build-up play given the visitors’ frequent injuries at the back. However, the Spurs have shown signs of growing as a unit with several key pieces missing, and Kinsky has encouraged the defense almost immediately.
We may not get any thrills here, but there may well be some late drama in the tense Emirates draw.