It might still be September, but the stakes have rarely been higher when Arsenal and Tottenham collide in the north London derby today (Sunday). And make no mistake, Mikel Arteta has much more to lose than Ange Postecoglou does.
Postecoglou might have won just one of his opening three league games as Spurs boss, and will be sent to Coventry in the FA Cup next week. But even Spurs wouldn't be mad enough to sack him if he loses to Arsenal - again.
Arteta, on the other hand, knows some terminal damage to his title hopes could be done if the unthinkable happens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Arsenal already find themselves playing catch-up. And giving Manchester City a head start is not a good idea. While Arsenal must travel to the home of the champions next weekend.
No-one knows this better than Arteta, who is starting to resemble the bridesmaid again instead of the bride. Last season, Arsenal put in a solid performance at Spurs coming away with a at-the-time vital 2-3 victory despite Postecoglou's side scoring two late goals as they threatened a come back in the second half.
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Arsenal's captain and starman Martin Odegaard is likely to miss the fixture after hobbling off during Norway's UEFA Nations League game against Austria on Monday. Speaking earlier this week, Arteta gave an update, he said: “We need some more tests so let’s see what happens in the next day or so.
“Let’s see what happens, what the extent of the injury is and how quickly we can get him back. He’s super positive about everything. We know Martin - he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see.
“He's willing, there's no question about that. He wants to be present every game and obviously in a big game like this one, but we need to make sure that we know first of all how good he can be or not."
Midfielder and Odegaard's fellow keyman Declan Rice will also be made to watch from the sidelines after his sending off against Brighton two weeks ago. In other years, fans may have had sympathy with the Gunners given their squad issues but Arteta will be wise to the fact every game is important in a title race, even at this early stage.