The rescheduled North London Derby clash between Arsenal and Tottenham is now just over a week away with a place in the top-four of the Premier League potentially at stake. Both sides are determined to return to Europe's elite competition after missing out in recent years and it could come down to a straight shootout.
Thursday, May 12 is the date set for the encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Mikel Arteta will be hoping for a repeat of the first meeting between the sides this season. Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang were all on target in the emphatic 3-1.
However, a lot has changed since then including the man in the Spurs dugout. Antonio Conte has replaced Nuno Espirito Santo and although the turnaround has not been rapid, there is no doubting the huge improvement since the Italian's arrival.
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Crucially, it is Arsenal who sit in the drivers seat. But both teams look set to go into the match in good form. Arsenal have now won their last three Premier League games, beating Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham, while Spurs bounced back to their best against Leicester on Sunday.
One figure who could prove crucial to the outcome of the match is the referee and the Premier League have confirmed that it will be Paul Tierney taking charge of the encounter, with Mike Dean on VAR duties. We of course hope that it is not a game decided by a controversial decision but sometimes it cannot be helped.
Arsenal boasts the better record with Tierney in charge, however, winning two of the last eight games he has officiated. Not an amazing record by anything, but with Tottenham winning one of their last 13 with him in charge, it suddenly looks better.
But he is more prone to flash red cards in the direction of the Gunners. Two have been shown to Arteta's side since the start of 2020 while Spurs have not had any from the 41-year-old.
