Arsenal will welcome their closest rivals Spurs to the Emirates Stadium for the lunch-time kick-off on Saturday in what is most certainly the standout fixture in a bumper weekend of action in England’s top flight.
Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday, November 18th
The Emirates Stadium, London
Kick-off at 12:30pm GMT
The final international break of the calendar year is now behind us and its heads down for the next five months in what is the most gruelling time in the domestic footballing season. As we approach the cold Christmas period, there will be no shortage of action to keep fans entertained and right off the back there is the small matter of the North-London Derby to be settled that should surely get fans warmed up for what is poised to be a rather exciting second half of the season. Arsenal will be eager to get back on the field and back on track after failing to win their last two fixtures before the international break. They followed up a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League with a 3-1 defeat away to log leaders Manchester City, a result which sees them slip to sixth in the Premier League table. Arsene Wenger will hope his side can rediscover the sort of form that saw them win eight out of the nine games prior to that following an impressive 0-0 draw at defending champions Chelsea which he described as a ‘platform for further success’. A positive result in Saturday’s match against arguably their greatest foes will go a long way to restoring some belief around the beleaguered Emirates.
Arsenal recent results: (all competitions)
05/11/2017 – Man City 3-1 Arsenal (PL)
02/11/2017 – Arsenal 0-0 Red Star (UEL)
28/10/2017 – Arsenal 2-1 Swansea (PL)
24/10/2017 – Arsenal 2-1 Norwich (LC)
22/10/2017 – Everton 2-5 Arsenal (PL)
19/10/2017 – Red Star 0-1 Arsenal (UEL)
Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be licking their lips ahead of Saturday’s trip to their North-London neighbours. Harry Kane has scored six times in just six Premier League matches against the Arsenal and could become the first player to score in six consecutive league matches against Arsene Wenger if he manages to find the back of the net yet again this weekend. Spurs have been mightily impressive this season, and have seemingly put their Wembley woes to bed. Despite the narrowest of 1-0 defeats at Old Trafford just over a fortnight ago, that result was sandwiched between hugely important victories at home over Liverpool and Real Madrid in the Premier League and Champions League respectively.
Tottenham recent results: (all competitions)
05/11/2017 – Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace (PL)
01/11/2017 – Tottenham 3-1 Real Madrid (UCL)
28/10/2017 – Man United 1-0 Tottenham (PL)
25/10/2017 – Tottenham 2-3 West Ham (LC)
22/10/2017 – Tottenham 4-1 Liverpool (PL)
17/10/2017 – Real Madrid 1-1 Tottenham (UCL)
The Gunners have just one win in their last seven attempts against Spurs in all competitions, in the third round of the League Cup back in 2015, with their last league victory over their rivals coming a staggering three-and-a-half years ago in March 2014 when Tomas Rosicky’s strike secured a 1-0 win at White Hart Lane. Overall, Arsenal still hold the better head-to-head record over Spurs but with recent results starting to swing the way of Tottenham, it seems the tide is really starting to turn in North-London.
Arsenal vs Tottenham head-to-head: (all competitions)
Matches Played: 193
Arsenal Wins: 80
Drawn Matches: 51
Tottenham Wins: 62
Spurs have held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw in each of the last three derbies to be played at the Emirates Stadium with the Gunners last win at home in the league over Tottenham coming on September 1st 2013, Olivier Giroud netting the only goal of the game. A second-half Harry Kane penalty cancelled out Kevin Wimmer’s first-half own-goal in the corresponding fixture last season before a 2-0 win in the last derby at The Lane as Spurs went on to finish above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years!
Arsenal vs Tottenham Last Seven: (all competitions)
30/04/2017 – Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal
06/11/2017 – Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham
05/03/2016 – Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal
08/11/2015 – Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham
23/09/2015 – Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal
07/02/2015 – Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
27/09/2014 – Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham