This is the big one. The match both sets of fans look out for on the morning the Premier League fixtures are announced. Tottenham vs Arsenal. Antonio Conte vs Mikel Arteta. White vs Red. North vs North. The Sol Campbell Derby. The Emmanuel Adebayor Derby. The North London Derby. This is Prime Barclays.
Arsenal still have a score to settle after their futile showing in this fixture last season. That 3-0 defeat flattered them and saw them miss out on Champions League qualification. They got a nice bit of revenge at the Emirates in October, but winning at their arch-rivals would be a huge statement.
The Gunners are top of the Premier League and thriving, while Spurs are inconsistent and frustrating to watch. ‘Form goes out the window’ is a cliche, but relevant nonetheless. Here is a combined XI of the two sides, coming from a completely unbiased Arsenal fan. We probably should have got someone else to write this one…
GK: Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Hugo Lloris may be Tottenham and France captain, but he is not a better goalkeeper than Aaron Ramsdale.
The 36-year-old’s latest mistake against Aston Villa didn’t come as a surprise to anyone. After seeing it I immediately said that if a Premier League fan watched that clip with the players blurred out, you would easily be able to tell it was a Lloris error. I stand by this. He is unreliable and often spills shots, like he did in the NLD at the Emirates in 2021. Can be excellent but tends to save up those good days for France, unfortunately for Spurs fans.
RB: Ben White (Arsenal)
Ben White and Kieran Trippier have comfortably been the best right-backs in the league this season. Meanwhile, this position is a cause for concern for Antonio Conte. The Italian has Djed Spence, Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal at his disposal. The latter was sent off at the Emirates earlier this season and the other two are not on the same level as White both offensively and defensively.
CB: Cristian Romero (Tottenham)
The decision between Cristian Romero and William Saliba was the hardest out of all 11 positions. Spoiler alert: Gabriel Magalhaes starts in left-centre-back as he has been more consistent than his French teammate and is bang in form, while Saliba has kind of stagnated, though he is still having a wonderful season. So it was between the 21-year-old and Romero.
The Spurs man is the only defensive player Conte has that can be regarded as irreplaceable. He has been bloody brilliant since joining in the summer of…
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