Unai Emery’s Arsenal will make the trip to Wembley to face Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur in a massive North London derby encounter on Sunday.
Arsenal currently sits in fourth place on the Premier League table with 56 points and are in the hunt to finish in the top four in order to play Champions League football next term. The red half of North London have won three out of their last three matches in all competitions and a win over their rivals will reduce the gap to just one point.
Considering it is an away game for Arsenal against a top quality side, Emery may opt for a solid back line and decide to leave Mesut Ozil and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang on the bench and call upon their services only if needed.
Tottenham head into the game with a four-point lead over their neighbors but back to back defeats against Burnley and Chelsea may have taken the wind out of Spurs’ title challenge. Although Spurs are still in 3rd place on the Premier League table another loss could see them in a scrap to finish in the top 4.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal
Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin are still the long term absentees for Arsenal along with striker Danny Welbeck.
French defender Laurent Koscielny remains a doubt after a knock in the midweek win against the Cherries and Stefan Lichtsteiner along with Ainsley Maitland Niles will face a late fitness test.
Tottenham
Key midfielders Dele Alli( hamstring )and Eric Dier ( tonsillitis )will both miss the all-important derby.
Jan Vertonghen and Harry Winks also sustain hip injuries but their fitness will be monitored just before the game.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Tottenham XI: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Sissoko, Winks; Lucas Moura, Eriksen, Son, Kane.
Arsenal XI: Leno; Koscielny, Mustafi, Sokratis; Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Torreira, Kolasinac; Mkhitaryan, Ozil; Aubameyang.