Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of the North London derby at the Emirates, a top-of-the-table clash with just one point separating Arsenal in first place and Tottenham in third.
The Premier League is back after a two-week international break, and we’ll have eight matchdays between now and the start of the World Cup in Qatar, which takes place from November 20 to December 18
Antonio Conte’s side are already battling injuries with regular key players such as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, winger Dejan Kulusevski and defender Ben Davies doubts for today.
“To play so many games before the international break and then to play 13 games in 43 days is crazy. We are dealing with injuries,” Conte said.
“This is the time when you understand who the title contenders are and the teams competing for the Champions League positions.”
Tottenham are unbeaten this season, with five wins and two draws, equaling their best start in the Premier League, but have beaten Arsenal just once in their last 29 league visits.
If Arsenal win today, they will retain top spot after eight games. Any other result means Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City can go top with a win in the Manchester derby tomorrow.
Emile Smith Rowe will be sidelined for the entirety of that stretch which condenses a quarter of a regular season into 10% of the calendar available after undergoing surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his groin.
The Croydon-born midfielder has lost his starting place to Gabriel Martinelli this season, but would surely get more attention in the coming weeks if he stays fit.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the club had tried other alternatives but opted for surgery after failing to fully resolve the problem.
“We had to make a decision because we could not continue with the uncertainty of whether we have him, or if we have him with certain conditions,” said Arteta.
“We had to draw a line, so we made that decision and he was the first one to demand that he wanted to make the decision and we supported that, and we have to prepare him to come back stronger than he did.”
The visitors handed Arsenal a devastating 3-0 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May today, a pivotal moment in the battle for Champions League football.
South Korean star Son Heung-min was on the scoresheet that afternoon as he progressed in his pursuit of the Premier League’s Golden Boot, which he ended up sharing with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
He has struggled to be part of this campaign, but being on the bench against Leicester two weeks ago seemed to start his season as he underlined his lethality when he came off the bench to score a hat-trick in 14 minutes of the second half.