With the first international break out of the way , normality resumes in the shape of the Premier League. And to kickstart Super Sunday we have our first North London Derby of the season when Arsenal take on Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. We caught up with former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant who offered us an exclusive preview of the derby clash.
In this article:
- Arsenal’s Recent Success at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Injury Concerns Mount for Mikel Arteta’s Side
- Arsenal’s Draw Against Brighton: A Missed Opportunity?
- Spurs’ Key Threat: James Maddison and How Arsenal Might Counter It
- Combined Arsenal and Tottenham XI According to Pennant
Arsenal’s Recent Success at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Arsenal have won their last two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and were 3-0 up at half-time in this fixture last season when the pressure was on in the title race. Yet, the tables have somewhat flipped in recent weeks in what’s been an injury laced with injuries for Mikel Arteta’s side. Alongside the fact Declan Rice is suspended for the clash, captain and talisman Martin Odegaard was forced off while playing for Norway over the international break, Summer signing Riccardo Calafiori was forced off during Italy’s Nations League clash against France after taking a painful knock to his calf in a freak collision.
Meanwhile, summer signing Mikel Merino fractured his shoulder during his first training session with the Gunners. Despite the spate of setbacks to have hit Arsenal, Pennant expects Arsenal to come out on top come 3:45pm on Sunday.
“Doesn’t matter who’s in great form when it comes to these massive games that no one wants to lose. Form goes out of the window. They’re always tight at some point in the game but I expect Arsenal to win this game based on what I’ve seen.
“Spurs have been good so far and play an attractive brand of football. They should have won most of the games they’ve played this season but that’s Spurs for you. We call it Spursy. So I do expect Arsenal to win this game but you can never be sure playing at their ground.
“Spurs and their fans will give it their all but what we’ve seen recently is they’re a one half team. In the first half against Leicester they should have been 4-0 up but in the second half they came out like they were still in the dressing room and Leicester were in fact the better team and got a draw. I expect Arsenal to win.”
Injury Concerns Mount for Mikel Arteta’s Side
Pennant is well aware of the importance Declan Rice has in this Arteta shaped Arsenal squad who have started the season well, yet already find themselves trailing their title rivals Manchester City although we are only three games into a 38 game season.
“It’s gonna be a loss, not gonna lie. I know going down to 10 men is always difficult but you see the draw against Brighton, as soon he was off the pitch, the space they got in that midfield pocket where Declan usually is cleaning up.
“Arsenal have replacements who can do a good job. Jorginho, we’ve seen him step up last season when he played a numerous amount of games, looked solid and had a good partnership and allowed Declan to go up further forward. I think he’ll probably step in. Thomas Partey looks well.
“It won’t hinder Arsenal massively but of course losing a player like Declan is going to hurt a little bit.”
Arsenal’s Draw Against Brighton: A Missed Opportunity?
The Gunners slipped up against Brighton last time out. Given the staggering points total last season required to win the title, how costly could that result be in the grand scheme of the season?
“When you go down to 10 men, it’s always a good result if you don’t lose that game but then on the flip side you can understand why Arsenal fans are a little bit of doom and gloom and sad because as soon as you start trailing Man City it’s a tough task to claw points, knowing that you’ve got to play City as well which could be further points gained or lost.
“You just don’t want to drop points knowing that Man City are going to win their next game.. Again there’s a long way to go and just like last season there will be surprise results. Aston Villa can sneak up on teams. Brighton can do a job. There will be more surprises on the way.
“You don’t want to get in the mindframe that we’re chasing Man City already and have doubts. So I can understand why Arsenal would be a little doom and gloom but not all is lost.”
Spurs’ Key Threat: James Maddison and How Arsenal Might Counter It
Tottenham’s biggest threat will likely come from and through creative attacking midfielder James Maddison. in the absence of Declan Rice the question will be are Arsenal capable of holding off Spurs and Maddison and who will Arteta line up with in the absence of Rice.
“I think that Partey is very capable of locking down James Maddison. We’ve seen Partey play in games and he can be very aggressive when he needs to be and he’s also good on the ball so that will be a good battle.
“It’ll be good to see if Mikel Arteta highlights Maddison as a key man to be stopped. To stop him from getting on the ball and dictating the play for Tottenham. I think Arsenal are well equipped to deal with James Maddison if they need to lock him down.”
Combined Arsenal and Tottenham XI According to Pennant
Raya, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber, Rice, Partey, Odegaard, Saka, Son, Havertz
