Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have both started the season in the typical North London fashion, which is to say that they've both been completely, utterly, nonsensically inconsistent. Arsenal are one of only two unbeaten sides in the division -- the other being league leaders Chelsea -- but they've been held by Leicester City, and only just squeezed past Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season. Spurs, meanwhile, are winless in three, despite kicking off their Premier League campaign with two back-to-back victories.
Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur preview: Goals expected in North London derby
With Arsenal and Tottenham both strong up top and shaky at the back, the North London derby could be a thriller.
Laurence Griffiths
The upshot is that this derby is as unpredictable as ever before, and the attacking strengths and defensive weaknesses inherent in both of these squads means there should be plenty of goals to feast upon. If that is the case, it’d follow on from most North London derbies of the last few years, which very rarely go by without a goal being scored -- only one has ended goalless since 1998. Don’t miss it.
Team news
Arsenal will still be without their long-term injured attackers Olivier Giroud, Serge Gnabry and Theo Walcott, while summer signing Mathieu Debuchy will still be out for a while yet. There is hope that Yaya Sanogo, Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Flamini will all recover from minor problems to be involved, though only the latter would have a realistic chance of making the starting lineup anyway.
Tottenham have only one definite absentee, with right-back Kyle Walker still continuing his recovery from surgery.
Projected lineups (left to right)
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczęsny; Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Calum Chambers; Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey; Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez; Danny Welbeck.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Danny Rose, Vlad Chiricheș, Younes Kaboul, Eric Dier; Mousa Dembélé, Étienne Capoue; Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela; Emmanuel Adebayor.
Key Questions
Will Danny Welbeck remember where the goal is? - When Danny Welbeck joined Arsenal from Manchester United on transfer deadline day, the Gunners' grumbles were that the England international was a striker that didn't score; a player who was excellent at a lot of things, but none of which were putting the ball into the back of the net. His debut against Manchester City didn't exactly quell such fears, though he fortunately did get off the mark against Aston Villa last weekend. If he can remember where the goal is, he could be a serious asset for Arsenal.
How will Arsenal keep Spurs’ attacking midfielders quiet? - Arsenal now have a pretty formidable attack, including a handful of capable attacking midfielders. However, they’re still wafer thin defensively, with the lack of a genuine midfield anchorman not exactly easing the pressure on their already-stretched back line. There’s the genuine risk that the likes of Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen could run riot in the space between the Gunners’ defence and midfield in this match.
How silly will Arsenal's right winger make Danny Rose look? - Whoever Arsenal start out on the right flank -- be it Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Alexis Sánchez -- will make Danny Rose look silly. It's just a question of quite how silly. If it's very silly, expect Arsenal to win the game.
Prediction
Both of these sides are strong up top and weak at the back. There will be goals. 3-2 Arsenal.
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