Sept 12 (Askume) – Arsenal face a tough Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur this weekend without their influential midfielder but Mikel Arteta’s side can take inspiration from his recent performance in the north London derby.
Arsenal have made a bright start after drawing with Brighton in their last game and are now two points behind champions Manchester City and Liverpool.
Arsenal have failed in the title race by dropping points in the last two seasons. Manchester City host Liverpool on Saturday, with Arsenal expected to be five points ahead of their neighbours on Sunday.
Arsenal will wear their away kit in the derby for the first time in 38 years due to a colour controversy , but captain Martin Odegaard and midfield partner Declan Rice are two players who will not wear black.
Odegaard is expected to miss several weeks after suffering an ankle injury during Norway’s Nations League win over Austria last week , while Rice is expected to miss his controversial red card suspension for kicking against Brighton.
North London derbies are usually out of form and often exciting clashes, but Arsenal have topped the table in the last two seasons, winning three and drawing one of their last four league matches against Spurs.
The home team also has injury problems. Forwards Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and defender Mickey van de Ven lost 1-2 to Newcastle United , but the latter two are expected to return.
Forced rotation
Arsenal face Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek and visit Manchester City next weekend, forcing Arteta to make adjustments to the squad and even change the formation.
With new signing Mikel Merino also injured, they may have to give versatile player Kai Havertz a bigger role. Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus is also missing, with striker Eddie Nketiah moving to Crystal Palace on deadline day.
Sky Sports commentator and former Arsenal striker Paul Merson said: “He could play in the Leandro Trossard or even Raheem Sterling role but it’s a big challenge for a winger to play forward at a new club and he said the club should look to sign another striker.
“You might hit a false nine in two or three games, but you don’t want to hit a false nine in seven, eight, nine games,” he said.
This weekend, 14th-placed Manchester United will hope to put their early-season troubles behind them when they face newly-promoted Southampton, who are yet to pick up a point.
Erik ten Hag is in his third season as Manchester United manager, but a 3–0 defeat to Liverpool – whose manager Arne Slot was playing just his third game in charge – has left Rufford fans sounding the alarm .
Leaders Manchester City face sixth-placed Brentford, while second-placed Liverpool take on Nottingham Forest, the only Premier League team to keep a clean sheet so far this season.
Ipswich visit third-placed Brighton looking for their first win since returning to the top flight, while bottom-placed Everton have suffered three consecutive defeats and travel to Aston Villa.
