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The north London derby returns to N5 for the first time since September 2023 on Wednesday (8pm UK), as we look to continue our dominance of the fixture.
We haven’t tasted defeat at home to Tottenham in over 14 years, and have lost just one of the last 31 league encounters in N5. September’s success at Spurs means we could string together a run of three-straight league wins over our neighbours for the first time since 1989, but while history is important, Mikel Arteta’s current side are building some impressive numbers of their own.
We boast the second-longest unbeaten run in the Premier League which now sits at 10 matches, and are the only team in the division yet to lose at home this term. After Sunday’s FA Cup exit, extending those runs thanks to victory over our biggest rivals would be just the tonic to keep our championship challenge alive.
Tottenham’s torrid time
Spurs head into this game with one win in their last eight matches, which has seen them slide from sixth to 12th position during a bleak December. That solitary recent success came at rock-bottom Southampton, and since the start of last month, only Leicester City and the Saints have earned fewer points than Spurs’ five.
When they get things right, they can record big scorelines. Their most eye-catching result of the campaign saw them wallop Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad, while Aston Villa and Manchester United were beaten by three-goal margins. A massive injury crisis has led to a mix-and-match defence at times, which Liverpool, Chelsea and United punished heavily last month, scoring 14 times between them.
They haven’t won at home in the league since November 3, and have only strung consecutive Premier League wins together once all term, which came back in September. But the up-and-down nature of their season appeared in a nutshell last week, beating Liverpool to take a 1-0 lead in the League Cup semi-final first leg, before requiring extra-time to knock out non-league Tamworth in the FA Cup third round.
What the managers say
Arteta: “It’s probably the nicest game of the season to watch because of the atmosphere, because of what it means to our people, and everybody involved in the game. This is something that is in our hands.
“Let’s create the best atmosphere that we have played at the Emirates, that’s our objective. That's something that we control, the players, the staff, and everybody that turns up tomorrow. This is something that we can do, so let's do it.”
Postecoglu: “I felt [the derby] was intense from the moment I arrived but at the same time I've never tried to be disingenuous about this stuff and say 'this means the world to me' when I've literally just arrived. But you get the context of the game and what it means to the club and supporters and what it means for our season.
“It's like being up in Glasgow, you're well aware of what it means and the ramifications of both the positive and negative. I've been on it for the first game. This year is as big as they ever come, especially for us and our season. We have to start winning games in the league and this is no better place to start.”
Team news
Mikel Arteta will make a late call on the fitness of Riccardo Calafiori who missed Sunday’s cup tie with a short-term issue, but Gabriel Jesus is out long-term after being stretchered off against Manchester United there days ago.
As has been the case for the past few matches, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Ethan Nwaneri and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all still unavailable.
It’s a case of one in, one out for Postecoglu as he welcomes back Richarlison who has been out of action since November with a hamstring injury, but that same ailment has ruled Timo Werner out for the foreseeable future.
Hamstrings have been a huge problem at Spurs all campaign, with defenders Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie all out with the same issue, as is winger Wilson Odobert. Their backline is further depleted with Rodrigo Bentancur (concussion) and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle) also missing.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: In September’s derby, Postecoglou went with a 4-3-3, using James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski either side of a single holding midfielder. He tweaked it for the 4-0 triumph at Manchester City, stationing two orthodox midfielders in the engine room alongside Maddison, pushing Kulusevski to a right-wing berth. If Spurs go back to that blueprint, their tactics will focus less on possession, and more on aggressive duel winning, quick transitions, and counters.
Pressing forms a key part of Tottenham’s high-octane style. No top-flight team makes more pressures inside the final third, and they are second only to Bournemouth when it comes to turning over possession in that domain. When we play out from the back they will hunt in packs, looking to win the ball inside our own half.
Going forward, Tottenham use the wings well. The two wide forwards are given plenty of service, supported by the wide central midfielders and full-backs. Spurs are good at creating overloads down the flanks, and scoring is not a problem as they rank inside the division’s top five for shots, shots on target and expected goals.
Their risky style has been undone in recent weeks though. If opponents can play through Spurs, they isolate a depleted back four that holds a really high line. In possession, Postecoglou’s players must be comfortable receiving passes in tight areas. From short goal kicks we are likely to press hard in a bid to force errors.
Facts and stats
We have won six of our last eight Premier League games against Spurs, and following our 1-0 win in September, we are looking to complete the Premier League double over Tottenham for the fifth time. Only in 2013/14 have we done so without conceding in the competition.
Tottenham have conceded at least once in each of their last 25 Premier League away games against us, since a 0-0 draw in 1998/99. In their league history, only at Bolton have they had a longer run without an away clean sheet (35 between 1923 and 2012).
Tottenham have won just three of their last 19 away London derbies in the Premier League, going winless in their last four. Meanwhile, we are unbeaten in our last 11.
We’ve kept a clean sheet in each of our last four home league games, last recording five consecutive shutouts at Emirates Stadium between December 2013 and February 2014.
We have conceded 28% of our Premier League goals in the opening 15 minutes of games this season (5/18). Meanwhile, Tottenham have scored more goals in this time period than any other side (11).
Each of Kai Havertz’s last 11 Premier League goals have been scored in London. The last Arsenal player to have a longer such run was Lukas Podolski (12 between December 2012 and April 2014.
Son Heung-Min has either scored (7) or assisted (2) nine of Tottenham’s last 14 Premier League goals against us, netting a brace in this exact fixture last term.
Match officials
For the third time this season, Simon Hooper will referee one of our games, having overseen the 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest in November, followed by our 5-1 triumph at Crystal Palace a month later. We have won seven of the nine games he has overseen, including each of the last four.
His only Spurs match this term came last month when they were beaten by Bournemouth. He has issued 56 yellow cards in 12 Premier League games this season, dismissing two players and awarding just one penalty.
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Simon Long
Fourth official: Tim Robinson
VAR: Peter Bankes
Assistant VAR: Tim Wood
Recent home derbies
We are looking to extend our unbeaten home run in the derby to 14 matches on Wednesday, but Spurs did manage to snap our four-match winning streak last season when they twice pegged us back thanks to a Son-Heung min brace, after a Christian Romero own goal and a Saka penalty had put us ahead.
Before then came a pair of 3-1 wins - in September 2022 goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka saw us end Spurs’ unbeaten start, while a year previous Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Saka got on the scoresheet against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
The campaign before that, a first Gunners goal for Martin Odegaard plus an Alexandre Lacazette strike helped complete a 2-1 comeback win and deny Spurs a first win at Emirates Stadium since November 2010.
Live coverage
To get your derby day buzz going, tune into Live From N5, where Nicole Holliday and Ezra Collective's Femi Koleoso will be pitchside an hour before kick-off to give you a flavour of the big game!
They'll be joined by our defender Leah Williamson to chat north London derby memories, as well as singer-songwriter Myles Smith who will give their take on the big game.
Frimmy will be out and about the stadium with our Question of the Day, while all the tactical insight will come from Adrian Clarke before he joins Dan Roebuck for live commentary.