/https://sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net/uploads/2025/11/imago1066367709-1-1-6920a9a066c7a497020239.jpg "Not Gyokeres. Not Gabriel. This man is key to Arsenal's - Sports Mole")
Many a fascinating sub-plot has dominated and will continue to dominate the pre-match talk before Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur, namely the fitness situations of both camps.
For the Lilywhites, Thomas Frank - who has been grappling with a double-figure absentee crisis for a large chunk of his debut campaign - confirmed a staggering eight boosts for his side in his pre-game press conference.
For the Premier League leaders, Mikel Arteta - forever unhelpful to fantasy football managers when giving team news updates - may coincidentally be missing eight men for the 198th instalment of this fixture, none more critical than the masterful Gabriel Magalhaes.
The set-piece specialist will watch on helplessly on Sunday due to a hamstring injury, and he may be joined on the sidelines by all of Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke.
Arteta's devotion to secrecy means that the status of the latter five remains largely unknown ahead of the visit of Tottenham, and by the time 3.15pm strikes on Sunday, there is a chance that at least four of them could be listed on the hosts' team sheet.
Arsenal will be in for a "completely different game" if Gyokeres fails to make the cut, according to one Gunners expert, and much has understandably been made of the impact of Gabriel's absence in both penalty areas.
However, Arsenal's most critical component in the North London derby may not be Gabriel, Gyokeres or any of Arteta's injury uncertainties.Â
Why Martin Zubimendi has a crucial role to play in Arsenal vs. Tottenham
Summer signing Martin Zubimendi will experience his first taste of North London derby day on Sunday afternoon, when the former Real Sociedad man has the capability to frustrate Tottenham's pressing machine to no end.
Indeed, the Spain international has completed the second-most passes under pressure of any player in the 2025-26 Premier League season, only fewer than a man now valued at £100m, if the latest reports are to be believed.
Zubimendi has made 445 of those aforementioned passes while under pressure from an opposing player, only inferior to the 492 managed by Nottingham Forest's in-demand England international Elliot Anderson, supposedly a prime target for Manchester United.
The 26-year-old may not possess the same physical profile of Arsenal sixes gone by - think Thomas Partey and Patrick Vieira - but he is the man who makes things tick for the Gunners, either as the recognised midfield screen or dropping deeper during build-up phases.
Schooled in the San Sebastian ways, the Euro 2024 winner's remarkable passing numbers under pressure tell the tale of a player who oozes class and composure with the ball at his feet, which is more often than not in this Arsenal side.
Zubimendi also sits in the top 10 for touches in the 2025-26 Premier League season with 801, and Arteta's shift from chaos to control has allowed the midfielder to further demonstrate his excellence in possession when pressurised.
Arsenal fans often bemoan their side's measured and patient build-up play against a deep block, but the Gunners often take their time in the middle third and wait for the press to be triggered, at which point the quick-thinking Zubimendi can help the team progress.
Not only does Arteta's summer signing possess valuable press-resistant qualities, his aerial abilities can sometimes fly under the radar - he sits in the top 5% of midfielders in the big five European leagues for aerials won over the past 365 days, and Gooners will not forget that one time he beat Dan Burn in the air too.
Can Spurs quell Arsenal's set-piece threat without Gabriel?
Whether Zubimendi's aerial excellence can translate into a set-piece threat remains to be seen, but Nicolas Jover will likely now be working overtime to find new dead-ball solutions in the wake of Gabriel's issue.
The Brazilian's six yard-box crashing capabilities are well-documented, but he added a new set-piece dimension to his game just before his injury, evading his man - as he so often does - to nod the ball into the mixer from the back stick.
Such tactics paid off twice for Viktor Gyokeres goals against Atletico Madrid and Burnley, and all five of his direct contributions this season - two goals and three assists - have come from the devastating dead ball.
However, the statistics suggest that Tottenham are the best-placed side to capitalise on Arsenal's reduced set-piece threat without Gabriel, having conceded the fewest amount from corners or free kicks in the 2025-26 Premier League season.
Only two goals have been scored past the Europa League winners from such situations so far this season, so Arsenal would do extremely well to make their 7.41 Expected Goals from set-pieces count for something on Sunday.
Nevertheless, for all of the lambasting about their perceived open-play failures, Arsenal boast the fourth-highest non-set piece XG this season in the Premier League with 10.7, only trailing Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Spurs have amassed just 6.71 Expected Goals from open play in the 2025-26 top-flight campaign, fewer than the likes of Everton, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.
Even a rejigged Arsenal backline can comprise the likes of Bundesliga Invincible Piero Hincapie and the impressive Cristhian Mosquera, so unless the likes of Mohammed Kudus can work their magic for Tottenham, North London will remain red.
No Data Analysis info