Before a ball has even been kicked, the momentum going into Sunday’s north London derby feels firmly in Tottenham’s favour.
Mikel Arteta may have given Arsenal a boost on Thursday morning by agreeing terms on a new contract, but on the pitch the Gunners have plenty of problems as they look to make it three wins in a row at the home of their fierce rivals.
In the space of a fortnight, Arsenal’s midfield has been dismantled. First, new signing Mikel Merino injured his shoulder in his first training session with his new team-mates. Then, Declan Rice was sent off against Brighton, meaning he is suspended for this trip to Spurs.
Arsenal’s misery was compounded on Monday, when Martin Odegaard limped out of action for Norway with an ankle injury, which looks set to keep him sidelined for weeks.
If Mikel Arteta was unaware of the phrase ‘bad luck comes in threes’, he is now.
Arsenal’s woes will be music to Tottenham’s ears, though, and, all of a sudden, they have been presented with a golden chance to end their poor recent run against the Gunners.
Spurs have won just one of the previous seven games between the two sides and have not led for a single minute across the past four derbies.
An Arsenal side without all three members of their first-choice midfield presents a great opportunity for Spurs to end that run and put down an early marker in what is a big season for Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian has a track record of winning silverware in his second season with clubs and the pressure is on him to deliver.
Postecoglou has rightly earned plaudits for the style of football he has brought to Tottenham, but ultimately he will be judged on results — and beating Arsenal is a good place to start.
Spurs have shown a clear desire to go for the jugular under Postecoglou, and that should be no different on Sunday, especially given Arsenal’s issues.
Tottenham will hope to have Dominic Solanke back from an ankle injury to lead the line, which would allow Heung-min Son to move back out wide and Dejan Kulusevski to join James Maddison in midfield.
The midfield battle promises to be a key area and Spurs have their own injury concerns there. Yves Bissouma was forced off midway through the second half of Mali’s 1-0 win over Eswatini on Tuesday after a heavy tackle and will be assessed ahead of Sunday.
Arteta has big calls to make in how he sets Arsenal up. The absence of Merino, Odegaard and Rice means the Spaniard will likely have to shift away from his preferred 4-3-3 formation and deploy two holding midfielders.
Sunday is an opportunity for Spurs to secure a statement result, however the same can be said of Arsenal
Jorginho and Thomas Partey are the likely candidates to start, but the fear will be that Tottenham will be able to exploit the pair’s lack of pace.
Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard could operate as twin No10s, as Arsenal used last year to good effect against Liverpool. Raheem Sterling is another option, and the prospect of him playing off Havertz in a 4-2-3-1 formation is conceivable.
Either way, Arsenal’s situation means Arteta is going to have to get creative ahead of what is a crucial week for the Gunners.
After Spurs, they travel to Atalanta for their Champions League opener, before heading to the Etihad for a showdown against champions Manchester City. It is, of course, far too early to say the title is on the line, but these next three matches could go a long way to shaping Arsenal’s season.
A nightmare scenario for the Gunners is they suffer defeats at Tottenham and City, and all of a sudden they are eight points off Pep Guardiola’s side.
Sunday is an opportunity for Spurs to secure a statement result, however the same can be said of Arsenal.
If they were to go to Tottenham and win — without Merino, Odegaard and Rice — it would be a huge boost for the squad and undoubtedly one of their best results under Arteta.
Arsenal were largely fortunate with injuries to key players last season. Four players managed more than 3,000 minutes in the Premier League, with Ben White (2,995) and Bukayo Saka (2,933) only just under that.
No one played more than 3,000 minutes for Manchester City, and their key playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, played in under half their Premier League games due to a hamstring injury.
City coped, thanks to their incredible squad depth, which Arsenal are working to build towards. The Gunners are not at that level yet, but Sunday’s trip will be a good test of how far they still have to go.
