Regardless of players or league position, the first North London derby of the season is always one of the most hotly-anticipated fixtures on the Premier League calendar – and this Sunday the stakes couldn’t be higher, as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur go into the game in second and fifth in the table respectively.
While November has traditionally been something of a troublesome month for Arsene Wenger’s men, the Gunners took the first steps to banishing their winter blues with a 3-2 comeback victory against Bulgarian champions Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday, despite being two-nil down after 15 minutes.
The same certainly could not be said for Tottenham the following evening as Mauricio Pochettino’s side continued to struggle to adapt to their temporary Wembley surroundings; turning in an insipid display in their 1-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. The result came as part of a wider slump that has seen Spurs fail to win in their previous six games, making it far from the ideal time to travel to the home of their bitter rivals.
Arsenal, by contrast, have not lost since their opening day horror show against Liverpool and have only dropped points once in their last six games in all competitions – the 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough. It is perhaps for this reason that both Paddy Power and Bet Victor have home side as evens to get the win on Sunday, with Spurs coming in at a best price of 10/3 with Totesport.
Despite the bookies’ quotes, Arsenal will need to be wary of a fit again Harry Kane who – if given a start by Pochettino – has a fine goalscoring record against the Gunners. The England striker is priced at 7/1 with Ladbrokes to open the scoring at the Emirates, but such sentiment should be tempered by the fact that Mousa Dembele was withdrawn through injury in the last game, and Kane often struggles in his absence.
Similar doubts could be expressed over Arsenal’s top scorer Alexis Sanchez who, though imperious on his travels, has struggled to have the same impact at home. The Chilean is priced at 5/1 with Sky Bet to be the first player to find the net, but should Theo Walcott make his return, he represents better value at 13/2.
Wherever your allegiances lie on Sunday, one thing that seems certain is that the game should be a cagey affair. With Spurs yet to concede more than a single goal in any of their Premier League games so far, you can get 10/3 with Betfred on the game featuring less than 1.5 goals, with the classic “1-0 to the Arsenal” being the preferred scoreline at 17/2 and the visitors being 14/1 to win by the same margin (both Bet365).
