Arsenal face Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby under the lights at the Emirates this Wednesday night, kicking off at 20:00 GMT. The Gunners will be keen to bounce back from two disappointing cup defeats and keep the bragging rights in this fiercely contested encounter. Here is our Arsenal predicted lineup vs Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs Tottenham Hotspur in North London Derby
How Arsenal Have Lined-up Recently
The games are coming thick and fast for Arsenal. Regardless of rotation, David Raya starts in goal.
In defence, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes partner up in the centre, with Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly as the full-backs.
The midfield three has rotated around Martin Odegaard who played in the last two cup games. Against Manchester United, he started alongside Jorginho and Mikel Merino, instead of Thomas Partey and Declan Rice in the match before. That said, Partey and Rice both saw some action off the bench as the FA Cup 3rd Round game dragged into extra time.
Up front, there has been a worrying blow to Gabriel Jesus. More on his fitness below. Raheem Sterling came on as his replacement against the Red Devils. Meanwhile Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli have been the most selected for Arsenal’s firepower in recent matches.
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Arsenal Recent Form and Tactics
Unbeaten in the league since November 2024, Arsenal are hot on Liverpool’s heels, desperate to make up the gap. But their last two cup defeats will no doubt leave them with great frustration – evidenced by Odegaard’s comments on the club being “desperate” for trophies. Knocked out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round, and 2-0 down in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg, Arteta’s men have a big point to prove when they face Spurs this evening.
Arsenal threw everything they had against a Manchester United side which only had 10 men for nearly an hour. They have a variety of attacking threats going forward, but a few of them are suffering from a lack of clinical finishing. This isn’t helped with Jesus’ latest injury, who is now sidelined with Saka.
This is a point that ex-Arsenal star Theo Walcott elaborates on. He said: “They just can’t open up teams. They’ve played Manchester United, who from the 60th minute had 10 men. When you have that much of the ball, you need to open up teams.”
The Gunners are unbeaten in 11 London derbies in 2024 and crucially are looking to do the double against Spurs tonight.
Arsenal Injuries and Absentees to Consider
Mikel Arteta refused to speculate on just how long Gabriel Jesus may be out for and gave a number of updates on the fitness of his squad.
He said: “I don’t want to confirm anything until we’ve had the final report this afternoon. It’s the doctor’s job to do that, but we were very worried straight away after the game and we are very worried today.”
Riccardo Calafiori is also in doubt. Areta said the player’s fitness issue is “not too much but we need another day or two.”
The likes of Jorginho and Jurrien Timber were suffering from cramp during extra time but are fine ahead of the Spurs clash.
Otherwise, there are still a number of long-term absences including Ethan Nwaneri, Bukayo Saka, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White.
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Arsenal Predicted Lineup Vs Tottenham Hotspur
GK: David Raya
DEF: Jurrien Timber
DEF: William Saliba
DEF: Gabriel Magalhaes
DEF: Myles Lewis-Skelly
MID: Martin Odegaard
MID: Declan Rice
MID: Mikel Merino
FW: Kai Havertz
FW: Gabriel Martinelli
FW: Raheem Sterling