One of the most encouraging aspects of Tottenham's fast start under Ange Postecoglou has been the absence of longing for Harry Kane.
On Sunday, that might just change when Spurs compete in a first north London derby without the England captain in nearly a decade.
Since his first-team breakthrough, Kane did not miss a single League meeting with Arsenal and came to dominate the fixture, tormenting the Gunners on the way to becoming the top scorer in derby history.
His absence this weekend further changes the dynamic in a contest that already promises to be dramatically different to last season's one-sided affairs, and leaves Postecoglou with his only obvious selection decision for the biggest game of his fledgling tenure.
Heung-min Son led the line in the last two matches, scoring a hat-trick at Burnley before a quieter outing against Sheffield United, but Richarlison was the game-changer from the bench in the dramatic win over the Blades last weekend.
Son tends to thrive in transitional matches and this one promises to be end-to-end but Richarlison would better occupy William Saliba and Gabriel, and offers the visitors the chance to go more direct and use the Korean from the wing.
Postecoglou can be trusted to make the right call but whoever plays up front will need to rise to the occasion, as Kane so often did.
Mikel Arteta's main selection headache is at the other end of the pitch, and feels entirely self-inflicted, with the Spaniard to choose between David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale between the sticks again.
Raya was confident, if relatively untroubled, in the 4-0 dismantling of PSV Eindhoven midweek and if he keeps his place against Spurs for a third straight game, Arteta's insistence that he does not have a new No1 goalkeeper will begin to appear hollow.
Arsenal's display against the Dutch on their Champions League return was comfortably their best of the season and perhaps a warning for Postecoglou, who has promised he will not compromise on his all-out-attack approach, even against the top sides.
After a series of possession-heavy grinds in the League, Arsenal relished the space afforded them by PSV.
Spurs have more quality, particularly in midfield — where Yves Bissouma versus Declan Rice will make for a fascinating duel — but Wednesday's game was a timely reminder that Arsenal would always take an open contest if offered.
Arteta admitted the first game in the competition for seven years was emotional for everyone at the club, including himself, although the magnitude of the derby should ensure there is no risk of his players falling flat on Sunday.
It also helped that Arsenal effectively wrapped up the three points before half-time, allowing Arteta to rest Bukayo Saka, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus in a low-key second half, going some way to mitigating the impact of Spurs's extra rest.
The game offers Arteta to the chance to reassert Arsenal's north London dominance, deal a first blow to Spurs's feelgood revival under Postecoglou and perhaps demonstrate that his tweaks to his midfield, including the introduction of Kai Havertz, and in goal have genuinely improved the team.
There is a sense Spurs will eventually suffer a sobering blip under the Australian, which looked like coming last weekend before two stoppage-time goals clinched the latest-ever win in Premier League history.
Arsenal, though, have not been at their free-flowing best yet, grinding out four wins from five games before Wednesday's attacking masterclass.
Postecoglou will sense that Spurs have an opportunity of their own to earn a landmark result, which would turbocharge his squad's belief in the new order and put an end to a dismal run of results at Emirates Stadium. Spurs have not won there since 2010.
Tottenham's promising start under Postecoglou appears as much fuelled by vibes as results, however, to the extent that a defeat may not feel like the usual doomsday scenario, provided Spurs play spirited, attacking football and have a go — which they conspicuously failed to do in both defeats to Arsenal last season.
For Arteta and Arsenal, much further ahead in their development, the stakes are higher, particularly as Manchester City — the benchmark — could be five points clear of both sides at the top of the Premier League table by kick-off if they beat Nottingham Forest at home tomorrow.
