Arsenal welcomes noisy neighbors 

It is another glorious North London derby between 2 of London’s bright attacking sides. Mikel Arteta’s men face off against a very familiar foe in Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese manager very much accustomed to beating the Gunners in his time as Chelsea manager and he has already got one off the Gunners this season, with a resounding 2-0 victory over them in the reverse fixture.

This fixture is known for its flurry of cards and goals, as well as the high tempo of play. Presently, both teams are in a rich vein of form, at least 3 out of their last 5 matches in all competitions. Under normal circumstances, this match should go down to determine who stays above who at the end of the season, but with the current rate at which results are going, it would just pass for bragging rights amongst fans.

COYG!!!!!!!!

Everton vs Arsenal Preview 2

on previous games against Tottenham…

The last game, we started really well, we were dominant and the first time they went over the halfway line they scored. That’s the quality, they are a well-organised team, a big threat in every counter-attack situation, great individuals skills and great organisation. You can see the team fights and believes absolutely in what the manager’s ideas are, so it will be a really tough game.

~ Mikel Arteta

THE BREAKDOWN:

TEAM NEWS:

ARSENAL:

The Gunners have an almost fully fit squad, with only Smith Rowe being the only player on the treatment table having picked up a knock in the 1-1 draw against Burnley and sitting out their Europa league 3-1 first-leg victory over Olympiacos in Greece, but he was seen taking part in training and he would have to pass a late fitness test in order to feature in this clash. We do not expect many changes from Arteta’s Starting Line up.

POSSIBLE LINEUP:

ARSENAL: Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Holding, Tierney, Xhaka, Partey, Ordegaard, Pepe, Willian, Aubameyang

TOTTENHAM:

Spurs would be sweating on the fitness of star striker, Harry Kane after the player was seen putting some ice packs on his knee after being substituted in the Europa League clash against Dinamo Zagreb in mid-week. Aside from that, they also have a fully fit squad.

POSSIBLE LINEUP:

TOTTENHAM: Lloris, Reguilon, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Aurier, Ndombele, Hojberg, Son, Lucas, Bale, Kane.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Harry Kane is the leading top scorer in the history of the north London Derby with 11 goals.
  • No Arsenal manager has lost his first 3 North London Derby in charge of the Gunners, Mikel Arteta has already lost 2.
  • Mourinho would be looking to become the first Spurs manager to win his first 3 straight north-London Derby.
  • Both Aubameyang and Lacazette are the leading joint-top Scorers for the Gunners in the EPL this season on 9 goals each. They would be looking to make it 10 today.

PREDICTION:

Looking at previous encounters and going with their recent forms and with eyes also set on the Europa League on Thursday in mid-week, this should go down as an end-to-end scoring game.

Arsenal 2 – 2 Tottenham

COYG!!!

Match Preview by Patrick Alexander