The Premier League is back following the first international break of the season, and Sunday’s headline fixture looks to be worth the wait as Tottenham host Arsenal on Matchday 4 of the season.
The first North London derby of the 2024/25 campaign comes after both sides had disappointing results last time out, with Arsenal losing early ground on Manchester City and Liverpool as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at the Emirates Stadium.
Tottenham, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 at Newcastle United, leaving them three points behind their rivals in the early season standings.
That loss came despite Tottenham firing off 20 shots to the hosts’ nine, also enjoying 65.7% possession and playing almost as many passes in the final third (235) as Newcastle did overall (261). The ‘Spursy’ tag continues to haunt Ange Postecoglou’s men, who also failed to make their dominance count in a Matchday 1 draw away at Leicester City.
Going into the derby, Arsenal sit in fourth position with seven points, three points ahead of their rivals who are 11th on the Log. A win for Spurs could bring them back level on points while the Gunners would need a win to boost their title charge this season.
See also: The September international break quiz
Although the season is still very young, a few players will be unavailable due to injury with most of the affected players being Arsenal players. Yves Bissouma and Richarlison of Spurs who are out injured, are both slated for a return on the 16th of September; an early return for either one or both players will not be a surprise as they might even feature in the game.
Mikel Arteta’s men have been rather unlucky, with the Gunners’ skipper Martin Odegaard joining the injury list while on international duty with Norway. The 25-year-old has grown and swiftly become a key player for Arsenal, and his absence will be felt in the heart of their midfield where he skillfully operates.
New signings Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori are also sidelined due to injury, although a cameo from the latter could be expected despite the Italian getting a knock while on international duty.
Merino, however, had picked up a shoulder injury in his first Arsenal training session and will have to wait for his Gunners debut.
Elsewhere, Takehiro Tomiyasu is scheduled to return but Arsenal have to deal with the huge blow of a suspension to Declan Rice who was sent off against Brighton.
Another new addition in the person of Raheem Sterling was added to bolster the squad in a shock move on deadline day, and he is set to be involved in some capacity.
Open the floodgates
Arsenal versus Tottenham has seen both teams score more often than any other fixture in Premier League history (43), while it’s also the fixture to see the team score first fail to win more often than any other (29 – D19 L10). Putting this into perspective, the fixture is expected to produce a lot of goals as always with neither team backing down until the full-time whistle is blown.
Tottenham, who are more advantaged based on squad depth have lost five of their last seven Premier League meetings with Arsenal (W1 D1), and will pressure the opposition to try to take control of the game right from the first minute.
The fact that the match will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will also serve as a major boost to Spurs who will not settle for a loss at home.
The North London Derby, as with other derbies, promises to be tense and competitive from start to finish. The spoils tend to be shared often between these sides, a win would do wonders for their early-season hopes.
