It’s rarely a dull occasion when the north London rivals clash, with Arsenal hosting Tottenham at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
We’ve seen far superior Spurs sides fail to triumph at the home of their arch-rivals in the Premier League since their 3-2 victory in 2010, but Ange Postecoglou’s side must sense the vulnerability in Arsenal’s ranks ahead of this meeting.
The Gunners are struggling in the absence of Bukayo Saka and head into the derby after being beaten by Newcastle and Manchester United in two different domestic cup competitions. Their inability to convert their chances has led to their recent demise, and they must find a solution during the January transfer window to restart their season.
A defeat here could all but end their Premier League title hopes.
A series of injuries has undermined Tottenham’s campaign, but they remain strong in three cup competitions. Wins against Liverpool and Tamworth, although it took them far too long to get the job done on Sunday, mean the mood within the Ange camp is good, and they can play without inhibition on Wednesday given that they play for very little in the Premier League.
A barren run in the competition means they are currently 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 matches)
Current form (all competitions)
Arsenal | Tottenham |
|---|---|
Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Man Utd – 01/12/25 | Tamworth 0-3 (AET) Tottenham – 01/12/25 |
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 01/07/25 | Tottenham 1-0 Liverpool – 01/08/25 |
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 04/01/25 | Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle – 04/01/25 |
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/01/25 | Tottenham 2-2 Wolves – 12/29/24 |
Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich – 27/12/24 | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham – 12/26/24 |
Country | TV Channel/Live Stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | discovery+, discovery+ application, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate |
UNITED STATES | Peacock |
Canada | fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Arsenal’s injuries worsened over the weekend, with Gabriel Jesus tearing his ACL during their FA Cup defeat to Man Utd.
Riccardo Calafiori is doubtful after missing Sunday’s cup match with a muscle injury. Myles Lewis-Skelly will be used at left-back if the Italy international is not fit. Jorginho and Jurrien Timber were also sent off against United, with both expected to be fine for the visit of Spurs.
The hosts are still without Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Arsenal predicted line-up against Tottenham (4-3-3): Raya; Wood, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Sterling, Havertz, Martinelli.
It appears the Spurs team have survived the frozen Tamworth pitch in 4G, although Postecoglou still has plenty of absences to deal with.
The Australian coach could welcome Richarlison and Ben Davies into Wednesday’s matchday squad, but Tottenham are still 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 not expected to be out for too long after missing the cup win on Sunday.
Antonin Kinsky’s third start for the club will come in the North London Derby. The young Czech goalkeeper has so far only shown confidence between the sticks.
Tottenham predicted line-up against Arsenal (4-3-3): Kinski; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Bissouma, Bergvall, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, son.
Arsenal’s ineffectiveness in front of goal can no longer be taken as a sign that the Gunners are on the wrong side of bad luck. It’s a question of skill. They are deprived of “killers” in the final third, especially with the absence of Saka.
However, they continue to assert impressive control over matches and should be successful against Tottenham here given the visitors’ prolific injuries in defence. The Spurs, however, showed signs of growth as a unit with several key pieces missing, and Kinsky almost immediately emboldened the back line.
We may not be in for any thrills here, but there could well be some late drama in a tense Emirates draw.
