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Arsenal red card, Solanke the Tottenham hero - North London Derby predictions

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur battle for possession in the North London Derby
-Credit: (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)


It's almost time for the first North London Derby of the season. When Tottenham Hotspur meet Arsenal there are usually fireworks and despite it being an early season match-up, there is plenty on the line.

Arsenal dropped points last time out in a 1-1 draw with Brighton, meaning they are five points behind Manchester City at the top of the table. Tottenham, meanwhile, have played good football in their three matches, but only have four points to show for it.

Neither side can really afford not to win, which seems crazy to say at this early stage of the campaign. It is set to be a thrilling encounter in N17, but who will come out on top? We asked football.london writers to have their say on the big match.

Lee Wilmot

There are always goals, there is always excitement and there is always so much riding on these games. I've said it before but I love and hate the North London Derby in equal measure. There's no match quite like it for the fans of both clubs.

Tottenham have started the season well, despite just four points from the opening three matches. Beating the Gunners will banish the memories of a dominant but ultimately pointless trip to St. James' Park just before the international break and would be the perfect tonic to this hectic run of fixtures up until the second international break of the season next month.

Without Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, some of the fear of just how good the Arsenal team is is gone. Spurs may well have an almost fully-fit squad to choose from and with the backing of a raucous home crowd I would like to think they will get the job done.

Both teams will score, and often the case in these games is that the team who scores first does not necessarily win. I'm going for a thriller - Tottenham to win 3-2.

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Tom Canton

I think Arsenal will win. But now I always think Arsenal will win and that comes from the confidence that Mikel Arteta has given to me and plenty of other Gunners fans around the world; the knowledge that this side is capable of beating anyone.

That was instilled before Declan Rice arrived and his absence here whilst massive can be dealt with, as can Martin Odegaard’s absence too. Kai Havertz will have a huge role to play in this game and could perhaps be its most important player.

Thomas Partey and Jorginho will need to win the midfield battle between them but most of all keep the group calm. Derbies are frenetic and wild at times and unlike the second half of last season, the control needs to be secured should a lead be found.

The game will be about the chances, both sides have created plenty in these first three games but not scored as many as they should. The side that bucks this trend as opposed to the other will win this game…I think that will be Arsenal 2-1.

Sam Truelove

I'm expecting an end-to-end game in north London. This really does have all the ingredients to be a classic.

Arsenal may not be as controlled and dominate as usual due to the absence of key stars such as Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. Tottenham may have a few more gaps to exploit in midfield and I believe whoever plays left-back for the Gunners could have a torrid time. Pedro Porro has started the season strongly and one of Brennan Johnson or Dejan Kulusevski are tricky customers.

Arsenal will be a threat themselves, however, and Bukayo Saka does indeed love scoring in this fixture. For some reason I can see a red card being shown on Sunday afternoon and I'm predicting one of Riccardo Calafiori or Kai Havertz to be the player shown it.

The final score? I'm going for Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal.

Kaya Kaynak

I have to say from an Arsenal perspective it's impossible not to be a bit worried going in to this North London Derby. Mikel Arteta may have envisioned a first choice midfield of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard for this season. He is likely to be without all three on Sunday.

That impacts the team all over the park. Kai Havertz has been on fire up front and terrorised the Tottenham defence in this fixture last season. He's likely to move back in to midfield to cover the deficit though. Gabriel Jesus is also an injury doubt, which means that Leandro Trossard could be forced to shift from his preferred left wing position into the false nine spot.

Equally in defence, Riccardo Calafiori's freak injury against France means that he is a doubt. This means that Jurrien Timber could be forced to complete his first competitive 90 minutes in an Arsenal shirt due to injuries.

That said, I still do think that Arsenal have enough to cause Spurs some damage. Bukayo Saka has been a menace on the counter attack in recent seasons in this game, and there will be a hope that Gabriel Martinelli can get it together in the final third. Arsenal have also been superb at set pieces for a while now, which is an area Spurs struggle with. Even without Rice's delivery they should still have enough to cause a few problems

I'm not expecting the kind of high-scoring fixtures that have been so common in the past. Instead I think that this will be a tight and cagey affair. I think if Arsenal come away with a 1-1 draw then they wouldn't have too many complaints.

Joe Doyle

Like pretty much every neutral here, I'm hoping for goals, drama and potentially a 20-man brawl (even if we're always told 'nobody wants to see scenes like this').

But in terms of what we'll actually see, I think it could be a bit tighter than usual. With Mikel Arteta needing to heavily shuffle the pack in midfield, it may well be a much more reserved performance from Arsenal, and I think they'll look to ensure they are difficult to play against first and foremost.

Having said that, coping with Spurs' all-action style will be tough - Ange Postecoglou will want to set a frenetic pace for his attackers to try and force openings.

I think we'll have to settle for a draw one way or another - again, not the worst result for a neutral as long as it's entertaining. And while usually in this game I'd go high-scoring, I think it'll be a little lower on quality in attack.

Final score: Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal

Rob Guest

This will hopefully be the game when everything clicks into place for Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham side. Spurs perhaps should have maximum points on the board from their first three Premier League fixtures but their failure to kill off matches has again proved costly.

As Mikel Arteta is going to have do without a couple of his influential players, this might actually be a decent time for Tottenham to play Arsenal. However, you cannot underestimate the Gunners even if they are missing players, as they are such an impressive team who can put their opponents to the sword.

Dominic Solanke's return to fitness is a huge boost for Tottenham and the same goes for Micky van de Ven. Tottenham desperately missed an out-and-out striker last time out at Newcastle due to the inviting balls that Brennan Johnson put across the face of goal time and time again.

Solanke may prove to be the difference in this weekend's North London Derby, thus handing him the perfect opportunity to mark his Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bow in the best way possible. I'm going for Spurs to win 2-1 courtesy of a late Solanke winner.