North London Derby a Top vs. Bottom Affair | OneFootball

The North London derby is already one of the most important days in the football calendar for Arsenal and Tottenham fans. Even for interested neutrals in years gone by, the clash has provided some of the liveliest entertainment and season-defining moments (see, Spurs thumping Arsenal in May 2022 to knock their London rivals out of the Champions League spots).

This time around the tie is a top-and-bottom meeting, and there can be no understating the magnitude of the clash. Leaders Arsenal are now under considerable pressure at the top to keep their noses in front and Spurs desperately need to distance themselves from the relegation scrap. Either way, three points on Sunday would go a long way for either side.

Arsenal’s to lose once again

Arsenal have dropped points from winning positions in three of their last five league games, which has allowed Manchester City to cut the gap from nine points down to five, with a game in hand for Pep Guardiola’s side. City could even bring the gap down to two points if they beat Newcastle on Saturday evening. Given that there is still a league tie on the cards for Arsenal and City, the pressure is now back on the leaders, largely due to their own slip-ups. 

Throwing away leads against Manchester United and Brentford before putting the nail in the coffin with their recent 2-2 draw at Wolves means that Arsenal are desperately in need of three points, as every game is a must-win. 

This is a fixture that the Gunners have enjoyed in the last few seasons, with Mikel Arteta’s side coming away victorious in six of the last seven meetings. But they can’t afford to rest on their laurels now, and the Arsenal boss made it clear ahead of the game that his team “have to turn up” on Sunday.

Arteta knows the import

Speaking about the most recent dropped points, Arteta said: “The immediate reaction is tough. It was a shock to the system. We wanted to win and we couldn’t and we have to move on.”

“We have clear instructions, and have to live in the present,” he added. “The present is beautiful, we are exactly where we want to be in every competition.”

The good news for Arsenal is that they stand a decent chance of being able to count on skipper Martin Ødegaard and forward Kai Havertz, the latter having looked very sharp before his latest knock. Arteta kept his cards typically close to his chest regarding his squad news but said there was a “big possibility” that the two players would be involved at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It looks like Leandro Trossard could also be involved as Arteta said he had no new injury concerns in his side after the trip to Molineux. The Belgian went off against Wolves following a heavy blow to the head but could likely start if he is fit. His presence would be welcome given his performance in November against Spurs, where he scored the opening goal and assisted Eberechi Eze to help him complete his hat trick.

Baptism by fire for Igor Tudor

While there is a lot of noise around Arsenal’s title hopes, there is arguably just as much chatter about the relegation battle that Spurs have got themselves drawn into. They are the only team without a league win in 2026 and just five points out of the relegation zone, the club finally sacked Thomas Frank.

They announced Igor Tudor as interim manager until the end of the season, giving him just a week to prepare for his first game in North London. The Croatian is a manager with a record of making an immediate impact, having won his first game in charge at each of his last five clubs. But he faces easily his toughest task fighting fires at the head of a Spurs squad who are winless in their last eight league games and are faced with a devastating injury list.

Tudor referenced the “rare situation” in his first press conference as Spurs boss, acknowledging that with “10 injuries, we trained with 13 players.”

A banged up Spurs side

With Wilson Odobert now out of action for the foreseeable future having ruptured his ACL against Newcastle, he joins the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Kevin Danso, Destinie Udogie, Rodrigo Betancur and Ben Davies in Spurs’ well-populated infirmary.

Tudor will not be able to include Cristian Romero in his squad either as the defender will be serving the second of a four-match suspension following his sending off against Manchester United. 

In better news for Tottenham, Pedro Porro still has an outside chance of making his return against Arsenal and the inclusion of their top scorer, Richarlison in the training squad this week would also have lifted spirits ahead of the clash.

Even with these marginal boosts and their new manager’s “100 percent” confidence that Spurs will be in the top flight next season, the club will need some drastic changes to keep their campaign afloat and improve next year. 

So who will come out on top?

The stats are not in Spurs’ favor going into the crucial tie, and a win under their new boss would only be their third home victory of the season. With that said, Arsenal have struggled to keep their momentum going to see out previous seasons, so they will have to pick themselves up quickly so as not to falter where they have fallen before.

There is more uncertainty about this fixture than there has been in a while, and it may come down to which team can come out on the day and fight to get the three points that they both so desperately need.