Arsenal will be hoping to maintain their strong home record against Tottenham in the season’s first north London derby at the Emirates today. The Gunners have lost just one of the last 26 meetings with Spurs at home in all competitions, winning 15 of those games.
Tottenham’s only win at Arsenal in the last 23 years came in November 2010 when Younes Kaboul netted a late winner in a 3-2 victory.
Arsenal are currently in stunning form, winning 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions while Tottenham are enduring a tough run of results. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have failed to win any of their last six matches in all competitions, but were only three points off top spot in the Premier League brfore the weekend matches.
Despite the winless run, this is Tottenham’s best ever start to a Premier League season and they are the only team in the league that are unbeaten (five wins, five draws).
Hector Bellerin is expected to return for Arsenal after he limped out of training on Monday with a minor knock. The Spanish full-back was not part of the Champions League squad that travelled to Bulgaria to play Ludogorets on Tuesday.
Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal are also close to full fitness after injuries but will face late fitness tests ahead of the match. Kieran Gibbs suffered a shoulder injury in midweek and will also be assessed.
Pochettino has confirmed that Toby Alderweireld is out of the derby, but Harry Kane will be in the Tottenham squad. Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela are both rated doubtful while Moussa Sissoko will also be unavailable as he serves the final game of his suspension. Eric Dier is likely to continue at centre-back alongside Jan Vertonghen.
Arsenal are winless in their last four Premier League north London derbies (D3 L1) – they’ve never gone five without a win against Tottenham in the league under Arsene Wenger. Pochettino is undefeated as a manager in his four Premier League north London derbies. No Spurs manager has ever gone unbeaten in their first five league games against Arsenal in top-flight history.
The team scoring first has failed to win this fixture on 23 occasions, the highest number in Premier League history (15 draws, eight defeats). The Gunners have scored at least once in 42 of their last 43 meetings with Tottenham in all competitions. Arsenal have lost just one of their last 20 Premier League games (W12 D7 L1).
Tottenham are without defeat in their first 10 league games of a season for the first time since 1990/91. They eventually finished 10th that season.
