Arsenal vs Tottenham analysis: Five key battles to look out for ahead of the North London derby

Tottenham travel to bitter rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon for another chapter of the North London derby which rarely fails to deliver.

Spurs haven’t won at the Emirates since 2012 and will be looking to end that dreadful winning drought against a top-of-the-table Arsenal team, who are formidable at the back.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer William Thomas assesses five key battles which could prove pivotal to deciding who comes out on top.

Mikel Arteta vs Thomas Frank

With Gabriel suffering an injury during the international break, Mikel Arteta will have to go without his star centre-back. Cristhian Mosquera looks likely to be the natural replacement.

The Spanish manager will look to maintain the Gunners’ strong lead at the top of the table with another win against Spurs at the Emirates, especially after dropping points against Sunderland in a 2-2 draw before the international break.

Despite their dreadful home record, Thomas Frank’s boys have a near perfect away record, having 13 out of a possible 15 points on the road this season.

The Danish manager’s away plan will need to be near perfect to get a result against an in-form Arsenal team. The last time Spurs came away with a point was in a feisty 2-2 draw in 2023.

Randal Kolo Muani vs William Saliba

New signing Randal Kolo Muani is yet to get off the mark at Spurs since coming back from injury - and a goal against Arsenal would go a long way to endear himself to the Tottenham faithful.

The Frenchman is facing his most difficult test yet, though, against French compatriot William Saliba. 

Saliba has been part of an Arsenal defence which has only conceded five goals from the last 11 Premier League games.

He will have to gel with Mosquera quickly as Gabriel could be missing for the next two months with injury.

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Victor Gyokeres vs Christian Romero

After an early brace into his Arsenal career against Leeds, Gyokeres has failed to continue the scoring form he was known for in Portugal.

The Swedish striker missed the last game against Sunderland through injury and a goal in the North London derby could certainly be a turning point for the Arsenal No 14.

However, Christian Romero and Micky van de Ven have formed a rock-solid partnership away from home this season, conceding only three goals in the last five away fixtures in the Premier League.

The Argentine has acted as the aggressor out of the two and his physical defending could cause an issue to Gyokeres, who has only just come back from injury.

Bukayo Saka vs Destiny Udogie

This has been a battle in previous fixtures which has decided games, as Destiny Udogie’s overlapping runs have caused issues for Arsenal’s defence. However, Bukayo Saka’s neat and tidy dribbling has been too much for Udogie and Spurs in the past.

Despite looking like he had a knock early on in the Serbia game, Saka played the whole 90 minutes for England, scoring a beautiful side-footed volley into the bottom corner.

The Arsenal winger has scored three in his last three appearances for club and country and will be looking to continue his hot running form against Spurs.

Mohammed Kudus vs Riccardo Calafiori

It will be a baptism of fire for Mohamed Kudus on Sunday, his first North London derby in his career.

The Ghanaian faces an Italian machine in Riccardo Calafiori, who has regained his place as starting left-back from Myles Lewis-Skelly and never looked back.

Despite looking good on the eye, Kudus has failed to deliver the output hoped from Spurs fans as the winger has scored only one goal and produced four assists so far in the Premier League. At West Ham he was criticised for lacking an end product, and Tottenham won’t want a similar poor return this campaign.

Arsenal vs Tottenham prediction

I believe Arsenal’s defence will just be too resolute for Spurs’ attack and win 1-0 with another set piece coming in clutch for the Gunners.

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