Premier League Preview: Tottenham vs Arsenal - Analysis and Insights

The Premier League returns with a bang this weekend after a two week hiatus for international fixtures.

The North London Derby is undoubtedly the game of the weekend, as Spurs welcome Arsenal to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for another chapter of the two sides storied rivalry. With Arsenal with their sights set on the Premier League title, they face their second tough away day in 3 gameweeks, after beating Aston Villa at Villa Park three weeks ago.

As Sunday’s much anticipated fixture approaches, we take a deeper dive into both sides, identifying strategies, lineups, key players and absences that could have a say in the final result.

Tottenham vs Arsenal Standings

Home side Tottenham have had a mixed start to the season. They won four pre-season games out of season, beating Hearts, QPR, Vissel Kobe and the K-League Allstars, but lost all three others to teams of similar stature.

They lost to Newcastle in a penalty shootout, and twice lost to Bayern Munich, 2-1 and 3-2 respectively. Although pre-season results tend to matter very little, the Spurs’ fans will be less than happy with their failure to get results against similarly competitive sides.

Tottenham opened their league season with an underwhelming draw to newly promoted Leicester at the King Power Stadium, before turning things around with a 4-0 home win over early strugglers Everton, in which Son Heung-Min bagged a brace.

The start of a special journey 🤍 @Sonny7 made his Spurs debut on this day in 2015! 💫 pic.twitter.com/tUqAMrimvY

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2024

However, just before the international break, their unbeaten start to their season ended at the hands of Newcastle United, who dominated the game from start to finish. Goals courtesy of Harvey Barnes and the in-form Alexander Isak won them the game, with a Dan Burn own goal sandwiched in between.

The defeat leaves them 10th in the league, and losing 2-1 to a fellow European football rival will have been a real kick in the teeth for Tottenham, and they will be looking to make a real statement of intent against their bitter rivals this weekend.

Arsenal have had a considerably more routine start to their season. Beating both Wolves and Aston Villa 2-0 in their opening pair of fixtures, everything seemed to be going according to plan for last season's runner-up.

However, a small spanner was thrown in the works when Brighton visited the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal had taken the lead through Kai Havertz, but a red card for Declan Rice following a controversial refereeing decision reduced the Gunners’ to 10 men, and Brightons’ Joao Pedro equalized shortly after.

With the game finishing 1-1, Arsenal have picked up seven points in their first three games, placing them fourth behind Brighton, who have an identical record, and Liverpool and Man City, who have 3 wins from 3.

We asked Arsenal fans to say something nice about Spurs...

It went just about as you would expect 😭 pic.twitter.com/S3yVl7Eb6d

— Premier League USA (@PLinUSA) September 12, 2024

Having positioned themselves well from gameweek one, Arsenal will be desperate to keep the good times rolling, and nothing maintains morale like a win over your fiercest rivals.

Tottenham vs Arsenal Recent Meetings

• 28/04/2024: Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal.
• 24/09/2023: Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham.
• 15/01/2023: Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal.
• 01/10/2022: Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham.
• 12/05/2022: Tottenham 3-0 Arsenal.

Tottenham vs Arsenal Team News

While Arsenal have one of the strongest squads in the league, a lot of that strength comes from the midfield, and unfortunately, their midfield has been decimated due to events over the last few weeks.

Over the last fortnight, they have not only lost £100 million man Declan Rice due to his sending off against Brighton, but they will also be without midfield maestro and captain Martin Odegaard after he suffered an ankle injury when Norway played Austria.

Declan Rice 🟥
Martin Odegaard 🤕
Riccardo Calafiori 🤕
Micky van de Ven 🤕
Dominic Solanke 🤕

The latest on the potential North London Derby absentees ❌ pic.twitter.com/HIMDguc1KT

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 12, 2024

Summer signing Mikel Merino is also out due to a shoulder injury sustained in training, while fellow summer arrival Riccardo Calafiori will also likely be absent due to niggle in his lower leg. Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu will also be unavailable.

Spurs were missing new signing Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma, Micky Van Der Ven and Richarlison for their game against Newcastle, but the first three are expected to at least be in the squad for the north London derby.

The availability of these key players could well give Spurs the upper hand, given Arsenal’s sudden plague of injuries.

Tottenham vs Arsenal Predicted Lineups

• Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya (GK), White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Partey, Nwaneri, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.
• Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario (GK), Porro, Van Der Ven, Romero, Udogie, Sarr, Bentancur, Johnson, Maddison, Son, Kulusevski.

Tottenham vs Arsenal Player to Watch

Kai Havertz has been a man transformed since moving to Arsenal. After three pretty fruitless campaigns in West London with Chelsea, the German moved across the capital in a move that was labeled as “£65 million down the drain”. Little did rival fans know how wrong they were.

The German has two goals and an assist in three games this season, after accumulating 13 goals and 7 assists last season. Playing as a cross between a number nine and an out and out striker, Havertz has evolved significantly as a player under Mikel Artete’s oversight.

Kai Havertz makes football look so easy 😮‍💨pic.twitter.com/YpTrDaSzmu

— Gooner Chris (@ArsenalN7) September 4, 2024

With his goal scoring threat combined with his creativity, Havertz has become the gunners’ chief goal threat, and will have to be heavily involved up top if a reduced Arsenal team stand a chance of coming away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a result.

Where can I watch Tottenham vs Arsenal?

The game kicks off at 2pm on Sunday, but coverage of the game with build up will commence at 1pm on Sky Sports Premier League.