Hotspur HQ

Tottenham Hotspur supporters have to be nervous heading into the North London Derby against Arsenal simply based on the form of these two clubs, but there is a quiet, not fully delusional, confidence expressed by a subsection of the fanbase who know that somewhere, deep down, Spurs play their best football when they are doubted on the road against one of the best teams in the Premier League.

And to this early point in the 2025/26 season, Arsenal have been almost unequivocally the best team in the league, and even Spurs fans have to begrudgingly admit the quality of their opposition. Arsenal are a more complete team after the additions of striker Viktor Gyokeres and defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer, along with a defense that is as good as it has been hyped up to be.

Tottenham are going to need a few players to step up as heroes on Sunday afternoon when they have largely spent the 2025/26 campaign as invisibles, and perhaps the most disappointing player in terms of not taking a step forward is young right winger Brennan Johnson.

Brennan Johnson is pulling fans back in

Thomas Frank was a big fan of Johnson's while at Brentford, but not even the new Danish manager has been able to bring something out of the Welshman, who has been so poor this season for Spurs that even Wales benched him over the November international break.

And yet, just when he was counted out, Johnson has pulled everyone back in, scoring this absolute beauty in the 7-1 Welsh romping of North Macedonia on Tuesday night. In addition to this banger of a goal, Johnson registered an assist earlier in the match, finishing with two key passes and four dribbles completed in a much better all around performance from the young winger.

There are enough Spurs fans out there to fall for this performance before the North London Derby and wonder if Johnson is on the verge of being a factor again. He did lead the team in goals last season in the Premier League, and, of course, he stepped up on the biggest stage with the winner over Manchester United in the Europa League Final, so then, naturally, Spurs fans would wonder why he couldn't repeat the trick against Arsenal on another big stage.

The thing is, it's North Macedonia. And it's Brennan Johnson. He's been so inconsistent for so long that it's hard to trust him, and while Spurs fans would love nothing more than to see him let it rip after cutting inside so he can score more goals like this one, it's hard to trust a volatile player who misses so much in the all around game.

There is no easing back into the swing of things for Thomas Frank's Tottenham after the November international break, with the first North London Derby of 2025/26 on the horizon.

Technically, this won't be Frank's first experience of the NLD, but it will certainly be his most authentic. In preseason, a stunning Pape Matar Sarr strike from halfway handed us a 1-0 victory over our fiercest rivals in an unprecedented derby played overseas.

Sunday's contest will be staged at the Emirates, with Spurs searching for their first Premier League win at the not-so-happy hunting ground since 2011. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal are really good and top of the table, but their extended winning run was halted by Sunderland before the break, and they could be without a host of key names for Spurs' visit.

Crucially for the visitors, Arsenal are without dominant set-piece threat Gabriel this weekend.

Arsenal without Gabriel for North London Derby

The Brazilian international was decisive in both derbies last season, scoring the winner in N17 before forcing Dominic Solanke's own goal in the reverse fixture, which cancelled out Son Heung-min's opener.

Since he arrived in north London from Lille in the summer of 2020, no Premier League defender has scored more goals in the competition than Gabriel (18), with Arsenal's rather annoying dead-ball supremacy owing much to his constant threat.

Fortunately for the Lilywhites, Gabriel sustained a thigh injury on international duty when facing Sarr's Senegal and won't be in action this weekend. In fact, there are fears that the Arsenal defender could be out of action for as long as two months; a setback that could compromise their title tilt.

In his absence, Arteta will likely turn to either Cristhian Mosquera or Piero Hincapié. Neither player boasts the experience, set-piece threat, nor the ability to command Arsenal's defence as Gabriel can, but both have impressed since joining the club in the summer.

Gabriel's not the only major Arsenal absentee this weekend, with Arteta's pre-international break optimism regarding the potential returns of multiple attackers seemingly misplaced. Viktor Gyökeres remains a serious doubt, while Kai Havertz has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Noni Madueke isn't expected back until early December either.

These absences don't suddenly mean Spurs should be expected to get something down Seven Sisters Road on Sunday, with the Lilywhites so often wilting in that part of the world when expectations exceed anything but a comprehensive defeat.

Still, Gabriel's injury setback is undoubtedly significant, limiting their distinct set-piece threat and potentially taking away a key avenue of chance creation entirely.

Tottenham Hotspur were actually more active than usual in the past summer transfer window, but even their most recent moves have proven insufficient at truly cementing Spurs as a top four side in England again. And that's largely because Thomas Frank inherited a putrid team that finished a historically bad 17th in the Premier League last season, and the charismatic Ange Postecoglou was able to mitigate just how terrible he and the team were by rallying the troops for a pretty easy march to the Europa League title.

Now, Tottenham are stuck behind the eight ball, and they will hope that Sunday's North London Derby at the Emirates Stadium doesn't end up being another day of reckoning for a team that, statistically speaking, is pretty fortunate to be in the top five and not in the bottom five of the Premier League.

As Tottenham prepare to do battle with their most bitter of rivals on the pitch, Spurs also have to think about another grueling transfer battle with Arsenal off the pitch. Frank already missed out on two key transfer targets to Arsenal directly, as the Gunners played the transfer game on steal mode and stole both his veteran Brentford defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard, as well as top Premier League playmaker Eberechi Eze from right under the noses of Spurs.

Tottenham could have another Eberechi Eze situation

The Eze blow, in hindsight, was one Tottenham should have seen coming, because even though the Spurs faithful wanted the London native, Eze had actually grown up an Arsenal fan and had unfinished business with the Gunners after they rejected him at the academy level.

Well, Tottenham's next dream transfer target, breakout superstar winger Antoine Semenyo, also grew up an Arsenal fan. And although Spurs are still holding out hope that they can be the ones to bag the Bournemouth left winger to fill the shoes of Son Heung-min that they never replaced in the summer transfer window, all Semenyo has done. give is Tottenham fans reason to doubt him ever coming.

Earlier this year, Semenyo gave an interview with Bleacher Report Football and basically admitted that he is an Arsenal fan. When asked about his favorite stadium, Semenyo responded that it is the Emirates Stadium, heavily implying that he is an Arsenal fan but does not want to admit it as a current Bournemouth player (and with rival clubs interested in his signature as a transfer, too).

Semenyo said, “My favorite stadium? The Emirates stadium, not because Arsenal is a strong team, but for other reasons that I don't want to talk about."

After missing out on Eze to Arsenal for that same reason, Tottenham have to think long and hard about Semenyo as a fit for them and how much they want to invest in going after him. Because if Semenyo has no intention of betraying his boyhood Arsenal fandom for Spurs, then spending all that time on him could cost Spurs a player like, say, Ademola Lookman, who would actually want to join them.

Tottenham Hotspur have developed many world-class players over the years, including Harry Kane, Ledley King, and Dele Alli. However, Spurs do not always get it right when it comes to keeping their best players, and a striker who they have let go just made a starring performance in a World Cup qualifier.

Troy Parrott just answered back to critics as he scored a hat-trick for the Republic of Ireland against Hungary to ensure a World Cup playoff spot for the Boys in Green.

Parrott came through the youth ranks at Tottenham after joining from the Dublin-based side, Belvedere. However, he made just four first-team appearances for Spurs.

Whilst at the North London side, Parrott spent time on loan at Millwall. Kane was also loaned out to the Lions before getting his chance at Spurs. The same was not to be the case for Parrott as loan deals to Ipswich Town, Milton Keynes Dons, and Preston North End followed.

Were Tottenham Hotspur wrong to get rid of Troy Parrott?

Parrott eventually found his level in the Eredivisie. He starred for Excelsior Rotterdam before joining AZ Alkmaar permanently. This season, Parrott has scored six goals with one assist in seven Eredivisie games for AZ.

His record with Ireland is also phenomenal. Parrott has found the back of the net 10 times, with three assists in 33 matches. If he can guide Heimir Hallgrímsson's side through the playoffs to the tournament, which will be held in North America next summer, then he will forever be a legend in Irish soccer.

Whilst performing in World Cup qualifiers and the Dutch league is one thing, Parrott can only prove that Spurs were wrong to let him go by performing at the highest level. If the striker continues to perform for AZ, then a team in Europe's top five leagues will no doubt take a chance on him.

Last summer, Parrott was linked with the Premier League side Leeds United. Leeds may want to take a chance on Parrott in January to help them in their bid to survive in English soccer's top flight. The Elland Road side is currently 16th in the Premier League, but just one point above the relegation zone.

Parrott is only 23, and whilst the Eredivisie is a good league for developing players, he should be itching to get back to English soccer again. The Irish forward is certainly one to look out for.

Although Tottenham Hotspur are a massive club in their own right, they are honestly used to being portrayed as underdogs against Arsenal in the North London Derby. Over the past couple of decades, they haven't been as successful as the Gunners in the Premier League, and while they began to shift that paradigm in the 2010s with the duo of Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, those two are gone and Arsenal are back on the rise in recent years under Mikel Arteta.

This season, Tottenham and Arsenal are in different places. Although Spurs are much better than the side that finished 17th in the Premier League to Arsenal's second last season, they are pretty fortunate to be in fifth, given how many issues they've had as a squad this season. Meanwhile, Arsenal are even stronger than before after a busy summer of transfers, and with Liverpool struggling, the Gunners are the best team in England at this very moment in time.

Even considering all of that, it's still pretty wild to see how much more Arsenal are favored at the Emirates Stadium this Sunday against Tottenham. Derbies are always tight, especially between these two, but even the unbiased analytics paint a grim picture for Thomas Frank in his first ever taste of the unique battle that is the North London Derby.

Tottenham are in major trouble

Opta have the most respected predictive analytics in the game, and they don't seem to be giving Spurs much of a chance this weekend. Per Opta, Arsenal have a 69 percent chance of outright winning this game, whereas Spurs only have a 13.7 percent chance of coming up with the full three points on the road, even in spite of the fact that they have wildly been much better on the road than at home this season. There is a mere 17.3 percent chance of a draw, so Opta's numbers overwhelmingly give Arsenal the advantage to outright beat Tottenham this Sunday.

It's such a big advantage when you compare it to the other Premier League fixtures this coming weekend, too. Spurs are bigger underdogs against Arsenal than Leeds against Aston Villa, Burnley against Chelsea, and West Ham against Bournemouth.

If it weren't for Nottingham Forest playing Liverpool, Spurs would actually be the biggest statistical underdogs of the weekend, and apparently Liverpool only have a two percent better chance of beating Forest than Arsenal do of taking down Tottenham. So as if Spurs didn't already have enough motivation to win, they now have something to place smack dab in the middle of their bulletin board.

Tottenham know exactly what they need to do to land Antoine Semenyo in the January transfer window, with the Bournemouth winger's release clause set at £65m.

Spurs were priced out of a move for the two-footed Cherries star in the summer before they moved on to alternative targets. Bournemouth were reportedly asking for £70m, which was regarded by the majority of supporters as a wildly inflated fee based on what we'd seen of the Ghanaian in the top flight up until that point.

However, Semenyo has since emerged as one of the Premier League's stars this season. A powerful wide man with game-breaking attributes, Semenyo is a force to be reckoned with in full cry.

We know Spurs were interested ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, but Semenyo has caught the eye of multiple admirers, and the Lilywhites will have to do some serious persuading if they're to land their man this winter.

Antoine Semenyo's Bournemouth release clause for January revealed

The Athletic's David Ornstein reports that Bournemouth could be "powerless" to prevent Semenyo from leaving the Vitality Stadium in January.

The winger signed a new contract in July that contains a £65m release clause, which must be activated by a specific date (not revealed by Ornstein) to allow the Cherries to find a replacement in the event of his departure.

Man Utd were linked in the summer, while Liverpool have also been touted as a potential buyer. Semenyo is a self-professed Arsenal fan, too, and if there's one position the Gunners could bolster to aid their title tilt, it's down the left flank.

Semenyo is exactly the sort of profile Spurs should be after to bolster an attack that's attracted plenty of criticism at the start of Thomas Frank's tenure. We desperately need a sharpshooter in the final third, and Semenyo may well be the xG defier who'd help the Lilywhites move on from Son Heung-min.

Little effort was made to replace the South Korean icon in the summer, and this may well be the deal ENIC has to make in January to convince those still sceptical of the club's newfound ambition that they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is.

£65m for a burgeoning Premier League star who's yet to climb into his apex is far from extortionate, but the Arsenal connection does leave me uneasy. I don't want another Eberechi Eze episode. A Gunners pursuit concluding on New Year's Day would be preferred. Rip the plaster off swiftly.

If there is one thing Tottenham Hotspur fans have on their Christmas wish list for the January transfer window, then it is a top class left winger who can bring goals to the table and help change games for Spurs, who have not signed a top left winger to replace Son Heung-min.

Savinho was not made available by Manchester City despite strong transfer interest from Tottenham this past summer window, while Spurs did not make a serious enough approach for Ademola Lookman, who was on his knees begging for a transfer away from Bergamo.

Because of Lookman's quality as one of the best players in Serie A over the last three seasons and his eagerness to leave Italian football, Tottenham fans have been expecting Fabio Paratici and Thomas Frank to circle back to Bergamo for another high profile swoop from Serie A.

Tottenham need a winter upgrade

However, Atalanta just fired the woeful Ivan Juric, mercifully ending the reign of an overmatched manager they should have never hired. They have replaced him with Raffaelle Palladino, the young genius who transformed Fiorentina back into a top team.

According to a report from TEAMtalk's Dean Jones, that switch in manager may be enough to pull Lookman back in and convince him to stay with La Dea. And per Jones, Palladino is already trying to convince Lookman of the project, his importance to the team, and the reasons for him to stay an Atalanta player through the January transfer window.

It looks like Tottenham are about to lose out on their most convenient left wing target - someone who can score double digit goals and even assists while winning one on ones. Spurs fans had Lookman earmarked as an easy upgrade they could achievably sign in the winter window, but now that is all cast in doubt by Atalanta being smart enough to hire a competent, player centric manager in Palladino.

Anything can happen between now and January, but under that anything can happen mantra is the inclusion of Lookman staying with Atalanta. Palladino has done great things in Serie A and is the kind of manager who can turn Atalanta back into a powerhouse after the slow start from the awful Juric, and he isn't as hard to work with as Gian Piero Gasperini, who turned on Lookman just the same way he had turned on players like Papu Gomez in the past. Spurs need to be wary now.

There is nothing in English football quite like the North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, and with the Gunners sitting in first and Spurs in fifth, there will be a lot on the line this Sunday when Thomas Frank gets to learn the nature of this beastly fixture for the first time in his career.

Already, Tottenham and Arsenal fans are wondering how key injuries may shape this high octane fixture between the bitter rivals. Coming out of the November international break, Tottenham fans may be especially curious about the status of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who has been slowed again this season by injuries.

Odegaard was unable to play for the Norwegian national team this November international break, and early comments made by his national team manager seemed to point towards the world class playmaker being unlikely to suit up for Arsenal against Tottenham.

Tottenham need to step up

But according to remarks from Odegaard himself after Norway's Sunday game against the Italian national team, that may not be something Spurs fans should hold out hope for. Speaking to Norwegian outlet TV 2 Sport, via AFC Xtra, Odegaard seemed to indicate that he has a great chance of returning from his knee injury in time to face Tottenham, “It's moving forward. The match today came a little too early... But it's starting to look better, so hopefully I'll be back soon.”

So it sounds like Odegaard is progressing well from his injury, and while there is no real reason to rush him with Eberechi Eze available as a top Premier League playmaker with a point of his own to prove against Tottenham after snubbing them this summer for Arsenal, there is no question that Odegaard offers the Gunners that something extra as a leader and player, especially in a fixture as massive as the North London Derby where there is that added pressure element emotionally.

Tottenham have not been particularly great in midfield under Thomas Frank, and if Odegaard does play, this is going to be more incenetive for Frank to finally roll with Pape Matar Sarr over the mediocre Rodrigo Bentancur in order to get that extra bit of midfield running, dynamism, and defensive quality to battle up with the world class Odegaard.

The real focus, though, will be Joao Palhinha. He is an amazing defensive midfielder and has the quality to blanket Odegaard out of the game. But even for him, an Arsenal game it not half as easy against O as it is against Eze.

Even though he didn't get credit for it, that go ahead goal Tottenham Hotspur scored to go up 2-1 on Manchester United - which should have resulted in a victory - was mostly all down to the individual quality Wilson Odobert in getting that shot off that Richarlison deflected into the back of the net.

After a pretty rough start to the season, Odobert is starting to come into his own in his second campaign in North London, as the former Burnley man is showing the class on and off the ball that made Spurs invest in him in the first place.

The best option Tottenham have on the left wing, Odobert is starting to show the flashes in the Premier League of the brilliance he has quite consistently displayed at the youth international level for France. And now, Thomas Frank isn't the only high profile coach in world football who is prepared to feed the U23 standout some more chances.

Wilson Odobert is breaking out this year

According to a report from L'Equipe's Loic Tanzi, Wilson Odobert is now on French national manager Didier Deschamps' radar as a possible player in the main senior squad, as he has caught Deschamps' eye from his recent performances for Tottenham in the Premier League - and presumably for all the great things he has been doing for the French youth national team.

Good things happen to humble players who put their heads down, perform, and are coachable and consistently improve. Odobert is a highly intelligent player tactically and technically who is all of the above, and if Thomas Frank and Deschamps can nurture that talent and put him in positions where he can use his technical quality and short area quickness to facilitate play, he could blossom into one of the best inverted wide playmakers in club and international football.

Playing for the French national team is hugely prestigious with all the talent that country has at their disposal, particularly in the attack, so it is a feather in Odobert's cap that he is working his way into contention. A huge opportunity is awaiting Odobert, and he can use that positivity and potential experience with the French national team to continue to improve his play and importance to Tottenham as well.

It's been a joy watching Odobert quietly grow into his own this season. Former Tottenham transfer target Rayan Cherki and current target Maghnes Akliouche have already debuted this year, so it would be fitting for Odobert to join them soon.

Arguably no player for Tottenham Hotspur will be more important on Sunday against bitter rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby than Mohammed Kudus, who has been one of the best signings of the summer 2025 transfer window in the entire Premier League on a team that has otherwise struck out on the rest of its attacking signings.

Kudus has been the one real bright spot for Spurs attack, and his return from injury against Arsenal on Sunday will be a massive boost for the Lilywhites. But Arsenal are getting a boost, too, that will make Kudus's job against the Gunners a little more difficult.

Per a report from Fabrizio Romano, the injury concerns around young Arsenal left back Riccardo Calafiori are meaningless. Fab says that while Calafiori left the Italian national team during the November international break with an injury, the Arsenal star defender isn't actually injured at all and is expected to be a full go for the upcoming North London Derby against Spurs.

A tough matchup for Mohammed Kudus

Calafiori playing for Arsenal against Tottenham is a huge deal. He is one of the most talented defensive players in the Premier League both as an actual defender in terms of his ball winning and marking, as well as in the build up play as a passer and progressor on the ball. He has been arguably the best left back all around in the entire Premier League this season.

As Tottenham fans know, there is a big drop off in technical and tactical quality between the Italian international and England international Myles Lewis-Skelly at the left back position. So now, knowing Kudus has to go to battle against Calafiori is a much tougher proposition and a potential match winning advantage for Spurs that is now no longer something they can count on this Sunday afternoon.

Spurs are going to be heavy underdogs going up against an Arsenal team that has literally been the best in the Premier League this season, whereas Tottenham are pretty fortunate to be in fifth. Kudus is a big reason why they have been in fifth, and Calafiori is going to be a great challenge for him to contend with, in addition to whoever he matches up with at the center back position after another Arsenal defensive star, Gabriel Magalhaes, did pick up an injury over the international break that could knock him out of this upcoming Premier League fixture.