Tottenham Hotspur will play Arsenal in a Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, September 15. The north London derby has produced absolute classics in recent years, so many people will look forward to watching the match.
The two teams shared four goals in the first league match last season, but Arsenal prevailed 3-2 in the second encounter. The Gunners split points with Brighton & Hove Albion in their last match, while Tottenham lost 1-2 to Newcastle United in theirs.
Odegaard’s absence might hurt Arsenal
Odegaard plays as the No. 10 in Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 and hence remains a vital component in their set-up. His absence owing to an ankle injury means that Kai Havertz might play as the No. 10 on Sunday, with Jorginho playing in a double pivot alongside Declan Rice.
As a result, Tottenham’s defence will not have to worry about the Bukayo Saka—Odegaard axis that usually forms through the inside-right channel. Rice can be an excellent offensive player and scored in a recent international against the Republic of Ireland. Still, he can not probably make up for the Norwegian’s absence.
Jorginho’s presence, however, will ensure that the Gunners have a good passer in the middle third. As the pressure on Arsenal’s defence will be less, they should be able to create enough goal-scoring opportunities for their forwards.
Leandro Trossard might play as the false nine:
Trossard might play as the false nine if Havertz plays as the No. 10. It means that Raheem Sterling might get his first start for his new team on the left flank. However, it remains to be seen whether Gabriel Martinelli gets the nod ahead of Sterling in Arsenal’s line-up.
Either way, the Gunners’ wingers will hold the key to their attack in Odegaard’s absence. Havertz and Trossard are also quite capable goal-scorers, and Mikel Arteta will depend on them a lot to breach Tottenham’s defence. However, the centre-back pairing of Micky Van de Ven and Christian Romero will have somewhat less to be worried about.
Ange Postecoglou will have to guide his team to victories in big matches if he harbours any ambition of winning the Premier League title even remotely. Nothing short of a top-four finish will satisfy the Tottenham supporters, and even for that to happen, they will have to earn points from such big matches.
The north London derby has not failed to entertain us during the last few years, and one hopes that Sunday’s match will be another addition to that list.