Emirates Stadium forms the backdrop for the latest edition of the famous North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Fans unable to attend can watch Wednesday’s encounter via live football streaming as eternal rivals renew hostilities for the 211st time.
Arsenal’s confidence has taken back-to-back blows in the build-up to this must-win fixture.
Newcastle United first toppled the Gunners 2-0 on this ground in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie last midweek.
Then, 10-man Manchester United endured a siege to take the FA Cup third-round blockbuster into penalties on Sunday.
Captain Martin Odegaard fluffed his lines from the spot midway through the second half, while Kai Havertz failed to score in the shootout.
As a result, the Gunners are out of football’s oldest cup competition.
What better way to atone for those setbacks than claiming bragging rights in this iconic fixture?
High stakes
Arsenal’s bid to better consecutive runner-up finishes is hanging by a thread.
Mikel Arteta’s charges trail table-topping Liverpool by six points at the halfway point of the season, not to mention the Reds’ game in hand.
The margin for error is thin, hence Arteta’s appeal to the Gunners faithful to produce the ‘best-ever Emirates atmosphere’ during his pre-match conference.
Gabriel Magalhaes’ second-half header inspired Arsenal to a narrow 1-0 victory in September’s reverse fixture, making it four wins from their last five league meetings with Spurs (D1).
Home fortress
Despite successive home upsets in cup competitions, the Gunners have gone from strength to strength at the Emirates in the Premier League.
Ahead of the kick-off, Arsenal are the only team in England’s top flight yet to taste defeat on home soil this season (W6, D3).
However, Arsenal’s most recent home performance flattered to deceive, even though Ipswich Town finished on the receiving end of a 1-0 scoreline in the final match of 2024.
On the bright side, it was Arsenal’s fourth consecutive Premier League clean sheet in North London (W3, D1), putting them in pole position to maintain their rich vein of form against Tottenham here.
Arteta’s men are unbeaten in this fixture for over a decade, racking up eight wins and five draws from their last 13 home league encounters against their bitter rivals.
Downtrodden opposition
Tottenham needed extra time to beat fifth-tier Tamworth in the FA Cup third round, only days after pulling off a late 1-0 win against Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup last-four tie.
However, Spurs’ non-Premier League results can’t mask their dreadful form, with manager Ange Postecoglou fighting tooth and nail to keep hold of his job.
A 2-1 home loss to Newcastle in their last league outing extended Tottenham’s dismal winless run in the top flight to four games (D1, L3), keeping them firmly in the bottom half of the table.
Additionally, they’ve only won two of their last eight competitive away matches against top-flight opposition (D1, L5), suggesting Arsenal are well-positioned to maintain their dominance in this match-up.
Postecoglou hopes Richarlison’s return from injury could help Tottenham turn the corner, with Reuters reporting the Brazilian star will be part of the matchday squad for the first time since early November.
Team News
Ethan Nwaneri, Bukayo Saka, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are still unavailable for selection.
Arteta hopes to have Riccardo Calafiori at his disposal, but the Italian is a doubt after missing FA Cup action with a muscle injury.
Prediction
Despite lacking several first-team stars and faltering in recent cup games, Arsenal are still hot favourites to win.
Spurs’ defensive woes are well-documented, and Arteta can rely on the Gunners’ deadly set-pieces to exploit their vulnerabilities and maintain the upper hand in this crucial encounter.
