Arsenal vs Tottenham: Match Preview, Team News, Recent History and More

The return of the Premier League sees the first North London derby of the season, as league leaders Arsenal welcome Tottenham to the Emirates Stadium in Saturday’s early kick-off.

With both sides widely touted as potential title challengers this season after racing out the blocks, this early-season battle could prove pivotal as the campaign unfolds. With that in mind, we are taking a comprehensive look at Saturday’s game, giving you a thorough run down of team news, stats and more…

Arsenal vs Tottenham Match Preview

What a prospect we have on our hands so early on in the season.

Let’s rewind to the last meeting in May – a win for Arsenal would secure a Champions League place for the first time in six years at the expense of their neighbours Tottenham.

Instead, a bubbling, feverish atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium proved too much for the Gunners as Harry Kane gave the home side the lead after 20 minutes, before a calamitous Rob Holding red card all but buried Arsenal as they were put to the sword in a gloomy 3-0 defeat.

This would prove to be the defining moment in their respective seasons as Arsenal’s occupancy of fourth place was flipped on its head, allowing Spurs to usurp them at the final hurdle.

Fast-forward to now, Mikel Arteta’s ebullient, vivacious young squad has been bolstered by proven Premier League winners in Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus, while the return of William Saliba from various loan spells feels like a brand spanking new big-money addition.

17 out of 21 Arsenal players who've appeared in the Premier League this season are 25 or younger.

Gabriel
Jesus
Martinelli
Marquinhos
Nketiah
Nwaneri
Odegaard
Ramsdale
Saka
Saliba
Sambi Lokonga
Smith-Rowe
Tierney
Tomiyasu
Vieira
White
Zinchenko

Incredible youth movement 🌟📈 pic.twitter.com/C7SFoJQzPN

— Matchday365 (@Matchday365) September 27, 2022

Sitting pretty at the top of the league despite a frustrating defeat away to Manchester United earlier in the month, Arteta’s patient approach to youth seems to be paying dividends.

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham present by far their toughest assessment yet however – unbeaten in the league so far, Spurs will be comfortable inviting pressure from their neighbours, keeping them at arms length with five at the back before pouncing with celerity.

Spurs are somewhat of an anomaly among the ‘big six’, averaging much less of the ball in the final third of the pitch than the rest. Only 19% of Spurs successful passes have entered the final third of the pitch this season – only Bournemouth sit below them (18%), while Arsenal lead the statistics with 30%.

With Dejan Kulusevski ruled out, Richarlison will deputise in his stead alongside an in-form Harry Kane, while last season’s Golden Boot winner Son Heung-Min’s first three goals of the season all came last time out against Leicester in the space of 13 minutes.

the technique 🤤 pic.twitter.com/jNRSbcP6KO

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 26, 2022

Two sides with conflicting philosophies should make for an intriguing, high-octane affair, and one which we are struggling to forecast.

Arsenal vs Tottenham: Match Facts and Stats

• This will be 171st league meeting between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
• Arsenal lead proceedings with 68 wins to Tottenham’s 55 – however, just four of these wins have come in the last 16 meetings.
• Although the Gunners have failed to win away at Tottenham since 2014, they have lost just one of their last 29 league home games against Spurs (W17 D11). They are also unbeaten in their last 11 against this weekend’s opponents at the Emirates.
• Spurs are in the midst of a six-season run of finishing above their neighbours in the Premier League.
• This derby is made to entertain – it is the fourth highest scoring fixture in Premier League history (171), with only Arsenal vs. Liverpool (175), Liverpool vs. Spurs (172) and Arsenal vs. Everton (172) seeing more.
• Tottenham have seen leads overturned in 19 of the last 60 meetings – 11 of these away at the Gunners.
• Arsenal possess the second youngest average starting line-up ever seen in the Premier League (24 years, 173 days), behind only to Southampton’s record this season.
• Harry Kane cherishes a North London derby – the England captain has scored more goals in this fixture than anybody with 13 goals, all of which have come in the league.

Arsenal vs Tottenham Team News and Predicted Line-Ups

Arsenal Team News

Mikel Arteta has been boosted by the return of several key players, with captain Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White all expected to start.

Thomas Partey withdrew minutes before Ghana’s friendly with Brazil last week after discomfort caused by a persistent knee problem. Despite this, his country say the injury isn’t serious, and the 29-year-old may be in line to start.

Emile Smith-Rowe has been ruled out until December after undergoing surgery on his groin, while Reiss Nelson and Cedric remain sidelined.

Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Gabriel, Saliba, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey, Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.

Tottenham Team News

Hugo Lloris withdrew from the France squad last week and will have to be assessed ahead of this weekend, while Dejan Kulusevski is a major doubt after picking up a hamstring injury, with Richarlison likely to step in.

Ivan Perisic also picked up a knock against Denmark, and faces a race agaisnt time to be declared fit.

Predicted Tottenham XI: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Richarlison, Son, Kane.

Arsenal vs Tottenham Recent Head-to-Head History