12 Jun 2019
It’s fair to say that Spurs fans had a turbulent time in the fortnight prior to the international break. A dominant 4-1 win against Liverpool was soon followed by a League Cup defeat to West Ham, where the struggling Hammers came from 2-0 down to stun Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
More misery was lumped on the White Hart Lane faithful by a 1-0 defeat away at Man United, slumping to a two-game losing streak. After that, however, came one of the best nights in the club’s history; a 3-1 win against European Champions Real Madrid in the Champions League. This was an elusive first ever victory against the Galácticos. Harry Kane and co then backed that up with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace. All of which sets up the upcoming North London derby perfectly.
Arsenal have struggled in this fixture in recent years, with their last win against Tottenham in the league coming three-and-a-half years ago.
Their supporters have historically revelled in celebrating what’s become known as “St Totteringham’s Day” - the day when Arsenal celebrate the fact that Tottenham can no longer catch them in the league. Gone are the days, however, of the one-sided “Mind the Gap” taunts.
Just one point separated the two sides come the end of the season in 2015/16, and Spurs finished 11 points ahead of Arsenal last season. The win over Madrid prompted former Gunner, Ian Wright, to admit he’s always been afraid of the Tottenham emergence, because it has been coming.
Dele Alli is expected to recover from injury and is seemingly back on form after a slow start to the season by his standards. Couple that with Harry Kane being declared fit to start after sustaining a knock to the knee, and Arsenal are up against it.
Although Kane and Alli should be available for Pochettino, Hugo Lloris is a major doubt after sustaining a thigh injury in the game against Real Madrid. Lloris was absolutely superb in the 1-1 draw at the Bernabéu, producing stunning acrobatic saves as the shots came in on goal with regularity. It will be a big blow if Spurs are without their captain for the trip to the Emirates.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are not in good form heading into this fixture by any stretch. After being held to a goalless draw at home to Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League, any hopes of bouncing back against Man City at the Etihad were dashed with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the league leaders.
The North London derby is now the top-scoring fixture in Premier League history, with 141 goals. A Spurs win and both teams to score looks like a steal at 3/1. With Arsenal conceding eight goals in their last four Premier League fixtures, this could be another high-scoring affair at the Emirates.
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