Tottenham Hotspur will be in high spirits heading into the north London derby after producing a magical performance against Chelsea to end the Blues’ unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men completely outclassed Chelsea in all departments of the game to earn a well-deserved 3-1 victory courtesy of goals from Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Keung-Min Son, moving up to 3rd in the Premier League standings.
While Spurs managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat to beat Chelsea at Wembley, Arsenal had to grind it out against a resilient Bournemouth unit that gave the Gunners a fair run for their money. However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal in the second half ensured that Arsenal stretched their unbeaten run to 17 games across all competitions.
Well, it hardly matters what they did in their previous games when the fans have the north London derby to look forward to. Both Arsenal and Spurs have been in red-hot form this season and the fans have every reason to expect a high-intensity thrilling encounter when the Lilywhites make the trip to the Emirates to lock horns with the Gunners for regional supremacy.
As both the Premier League giants prepare for this much-awaited top of the table clash, let us take a look at a few personal battles that might decide the fate of the game.
A striker of Kane’s calibre has the ability to settle any contest on his own and the Arsenal defenders are set to face an uphill task to keep England’s golden boy at bay on Sunday.
As much as Arsenal have promised in the final third this season, the Gunners have looked a bit shaky at the back. Unai Emery’s men have conceded 16 goals so far in the Premier League, which is more than any of the other top-five teams.
Sokratis was the pick of Arsenal’s backline in the previous game, using every inch of his sinewy physique to outmuscle his offensive counterparts. Furthermore, he looked a lot better in terms of positioning and composure than Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi.
In all honesty, the Greek international will be Arsenal’s best bet to counter the threat of Harry Kane. Kane is capable of exploiting even an inch of space given to him in the final third and Sokratis will have to be at the top of his game to keep the Englishman quiet.
Alexandre Lacazette did not feature in the game against Bournemouth due to a groin strain but he will be expected to return as the spearhead of Arsenal’s attack against Spurs on Sunday.
The Frenchman has been in terrific form this season, scoring 5 goals and providing 2 assists. He has been impressive with his movement and finishing, both from inside as well as outside the box. He has looked extremely confident this season and will possibly cause Spurs a few headaches in the derby.
Pochettino has had plenty of injuries to contend with this season, particularly in central midfield and defence. However, Jan Vertonghen is set to return to partner Toby Alderweireld in the heart of Tottenham’s defence on Sunday.
Alderweireld has been pretty solid at the back this season but has let the team down at times with lapses in concentration. And the Belgian cannot afford to have any occasional mental freezes when he faces a potent Arsenal attack consisting of Lacazette and Aubameyang, both of whom are at the top of their game this season.
Dele Alli has made a massive difference to this Tottenham side since making a return from his injury and he was one of the stars of the show when the Lilywhites thrashed Chelsea last week.
Operating in a No.10 as the supporting striker behind Harry Kane, Alli absolutely tormented Chelsea’s defence with his pace, dribbling and energetic runs in the final third.
As clever as Alli is, he can link-up very well with the likes of Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane and has the ability to turn the game on its head with a moment of individual brilliance.
Spurs were very good with their link-up play in the last game, which was one of the hallmarks of their success and Arsenal will need to stop that from happening on Sunday.
And Arsenal’s midfield destroyer Lucas Torreira will have to rise to the occasion to stop the likes of Alli, Eriksen and Kane from combining effectively.
Torreira has been in splendid form this season, dictating terms in the midfield with his flawless passing and distribution and has cut out the opposition’s attacks even before they have developed. The Uruguayan’s strong and energetic presence will be the key to Arsenal’s chances of stopping the advances of Dele Alli.
Both the players have been in superb form this season and one can expect Torreira to go into a few rough challenges as he so often does.