Who: Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur
What: English Premier League
Where: The Emirates Stadium, London
When: Sunday at 4:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 13:30 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
The standout Premier League game of the weekend sees Arsenal host Tottenham in the North London derby, with Spurs desperate to put a dent in their bitter rivals’ title campaign while reinvigorating their own stumbling season.
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League leaders Arsenal start the weekend on 26 points, four points above second-placed Man City, but their run of 10 straight wins – and eight successive clean sheets – was brought to an end in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland before the international break.
Spurs head into the weekend in fifth place with 18 points, a position that probably flatters Thomas Frank’s side, who have been sorely lacking in creativity while also being prone to defensive lapses.
Arsenal have dominated recent derbies – unbeaten in the last six – but Spurs travel to the Emirates boasting the best away record in the league this season.
Gabriel faces ‘weeks’ out in major blow for Arsenal
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes will be out of action for “weeks” after picking up an injury during international duty, manager Mikel Arteta confirmed on Friday.
The Brazil centre-back has been ever-present in the Premier League in a Gunners back line that has conceded just five goals in 11 games, but he suffered a thigh injury during Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
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“It’s clearly a blow because he’s our leader in our back line and, to me, it’s never a positive thing,” Arteta said.
“The good thing is that we have very good options and people have to stand up now and do the job.”
A ‘privilege’ to lead Arsenal in the derby, Arteta says
Arteta spoke to Arsenal’s in-house media about the passion of the north London derby and the sense of “privilege” he feels to be a part of these games.
“There’s been a lot of shifts as well over the years, we’ve been more dominant, and it’s just beautiful, especially when we play at home in front of our people, we know what it means to them,” he said.
“The energy that they’re going to bring, the energy that the team is going to bring in every single action, it’s just a privilege to play those kinds of games. We cannot wait to get to Sunday.”
Frank wants ‘controlled chaos’ against Arsenal
Tottenham’s boss admitted on Friday that Spurs are some way behind their archrivals but believes they can disrupt Arteta’s side on Sunday.
“The interesting thing is that probably both Mikel and I would like a little bit more of a controlled game, but it will probably end up absolutely madhouse,” Frank, who will be getting his first taste of the derby, told reporters.
“I expect a difficult [match], but a game that can go anywhere.”
Frank is regarded as a far more pragmatic coach than Ange Postecoglou, the man he replaced in the close season, with an emphasis on set-pieces and data that served him so well at Brentford.
However, Frank will not be telling his side just to try and grind out a point on Sunday.
“Definitely embrace controlled chaos, or chaos we like to create, if that makes sense, because chaos can be good,” Frank said. “Chaos can be transitions, high-pressure and set-piece second phases, and all those areas are, of course, areas we would like to exploit if we can.
“By the way, we will never go for a 0-0. It maybe will end 0-0 but we will always try to win. Always, always, always.”
Tottenham’s impressive away form
Frank’s side have taken 13 points from five games and the Dane said that will give them confidence ahead of Sunday’s showdown.
“Arsenal are at the top of the table, by quite a distance,” said Frank. “They’ve been good for a few years, but we need to do everything we can to turn that around.
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“It’s one game on Sunday, one game where I’m convinced that we’ll compete a lot. I will do everything we can to beat them.”
Arsenal and Spurs have locked horns on 211 occasions, with Arsenal winning 89 of those games, Tottenham winning 67, and 55 ending in draws.
The Gunners did the double over their rivals last season, and Tottenham have won just two of their last 10 meetings with Arsenal since December 2020.
Tottenham have not won at the Emirates since a League Cup clash in 2018 and their last Premier League victory away to their neighbours was a 3-2 win 15 years ago.
The last Spurs victory over Arsenal was a 3-0 home win in the Premier League back in May 2022.
Arsenal’s team news
While Arsenal will miss Gabriel, they have good back-up options in summer signings Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.
Club captain Martin Odegaard remains some way from availability after a knee injury, while Kai Havertz has suffered a relapse in his injury recovery and has been ruled out. Forward Gabriel Jesus is slowly being rehabilitated after his ACL tear but is not expected to return until the new year.
Meanwhile, Striker Viktor Gyokeres, wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke, and left-back Riccardo Calafiori are major doubts as they continue to recover from injuries.
Leandro Trossard is likely to get the nod to start as a false nine, while Eberechi Eze is set to play on the left wing.
Arsenal’s predicted starting XI
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Hincapie, Calafiori; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Merino, Trossard
Tottenham’s team news
Forward Randal Kolo Muani is available after suffering a head injury in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United last time out.
Defender Archie Gray is also available, as is midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who was forced out of the Sweden squad, and Pape Matar Sarr is also in the Spurs squad despite suffering an injury while playing for Senegal.
It remains unclear whether winger Mohammed Kudus will have recovered from a knock to return against the Gunners.
Ben Davies, Kota Takai, and Radu Dragusin are all serious doubts as they struggle to recover from knocks.
Spurs remain without Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Yves Bissouma due to longer-term injuries.
Tottenham’s predicted starting XI
Vicario; Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Palhinha, Simons; Johnson, Richarlison, Odobert