Harvey Downes | Arsenal vs Tottenham: North London Derby Preview

THE north London derby is one of those games your eyes are drawn towards on fixture release day and the first meeting between the two teams this season is set up to be a cracker.

The two sides – recently off the back of dramatic late winners – head into Sunday’s lunch-time encounter level on points, just the third time this has happened in the Premier League era.

Tottenham, reinvigorated under Ange Postecoglou, will be looking to lay down a marker to their north London rivals, while the Gunners will be hoping to squash any early season momentum Spurs have built as they aim to keep pace with Manchester City.

The north London derby is a fixture that has been historically dominated by the home side, with just eight away wins across the previous 62 Premier League meetings (6 for Arsenal & 2 for Spurs).

This weekend’s encounter takes place at the Emirates, which has seen more goals than any other Premier League ground since the start of last season (89). Meanwhile, Tottenham’s games have seen more goals overall than any other side’s since the start of last term (151). Considering both teams have scored in 11 of the last 13 Premier League north London derbies at the Emirates, goals should be on the menu!

Tottenham’s away record against Arsenal however is far from impressive, winning just one of their last 30 Premier League games against them on the road (D11 L18), a 3-2 victory in November 2010. No side has ever dropped more points against another after taking the lead in Premier League matches than Spurs have against the Gunners (45) and since Tottenham’s last league win at the Emirates in November 2010, they’ve taken the lead in seven games, going on to draw three and lose four.

The Gunners did the league double over Spurs last term and have won four of their last five Premier League games against them. In fact, they could win three successive league matches against their north London rivals for the first time since 1989 (a run of 5).

When it comes to derby day, incidents in the shape of penalties and red cards are never far away. Indeed, no fixture in Premier League history has seen more penalties awarded than the north London derby (24), while only three fixtures have seen more red cards brandished than the 16 in games between Arsenal and Tottenham: Liverpool vs Everton (22), Liverpool vs Man Utd (17) and Everton vs Newcastle (17).

One notable absentee from Sunday’s game – and a player Arsenal will be glad to see the back of – is Harry Kane. This will be the first Premier League north London derby without him since September 2014, having featured in each of the last 17 (14 goals, with 7 coming from the penalty spot) and holding the record for most goals scored in this fixture’s history.

Having lost their club captain and record goalscorer in the summer, not many people would have predicted Tottenham’s start to the campaign. Ange Postecoglou has made an immediate impact at Spurs, engraining his footballing philosophy and a style of play which served him so well during his time in Scotland. Tottenham have completely reformed from a defensive, counterattacking side under Conte to a front footed, progressive, possession-based model under the Australian. In turn, this has resulted in an improvement in both performance (as the stats highlight below) and results, rebuilding a relationship between club and fans which had been an extremely volatile one for a number of years.

Tottenham’s new-found emphasis on the attacking side of their game has seen Postecoglou become just the fifth manager to see his side score 2+ goals in each of his first five games in charge in the Premier League (also Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola, Craig Shakespeare and Maurizio Sarri). Spurs have also found the knack of rescuing points from losing positions (7 so far this season with only Liverpool winning more – 9), going into the 98th minute trailing to Sheffield United last weekend before winning 2-1, the latest winning comeback by a side in Premier League history, surpassing their own record (95th min v Leicester in January 2022).

It’s hard to imagine that a victory for Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby would represent a better start to the campaign after six games than last season. The Gunners set off like a steam train in 2022-23 and are yet to find that early season form that saw them blow sides away last term.

Tactical and personnel changes in the opening weeks saw Arsenal hang on to victories against the likes of Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace before throwing away a lead against 10-man Fulham. Since then, the Gunners have reverted back to a selection and formation that served them so well last term, with a back four consisting of White, Saliba, Gabriel and Zinchenko.

Injuries have already plagued a number of first team regulars for Arsenal this season (Jesus, Partey, Timber & Martinelli), however the Gunners invested heavily in the summer for just this reason, to enable them to challenge on all fronts.

Sunday’s north London derby comes with the added complication (from a squad rotation point of view) of Arsenal’s midweek return to the Champions League, following six years out of Europe’s premier competition. However, the Gunners are unbeaten in each of their last 15 Premier League games that have come after their previous match was in European competition (W12 D3). An omen they’ll hope will continue.

Mikel Arteta has also lost none of the eight home games he’s been involved in with Arsenal against Spurs as either a player (P5 W3 D2) or a manager (P3 W3) across all competitions – it’s the most he’s faced a side with the Gunners (as a player and manager combined) on home soil without ever losing.

Derby day is like no other and while the result of this match won’t define either side’s season, there’s more than just bragging rights at stake this time round.