Arsenal vs. Tottenham: One Mikel Arteta selection call could define North London derby

Arsenal's chances of success in the North London derby could hinge on one particular Mikel Arteta selection, and it is not in defence, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.

The Premier League leaders host bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon lamenting the absence of defensive cornerstone Gabriel Magalhaes, whom Arteta has confirmed will be out for a few weeks at least with the hamstring injury he suffered while representing Brazil this month.

Gabriel could be one of two rearguard regulars missing for Arsenal this weekend, as Riccardo Calafiori has not trained since leaving the Italy camp with a hip injury, although the likes of Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera can provide more than adequate cover for their defensive colleagues.

The same cannot be said up front, though, as Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz (both knee) will miss out, while Viktor Gyokeres remains a doubt due to his hamstring injury - Arteta refused to specify his availability for the derby in his pre-game press conference.

However, the derby will be a "completely different game" in a bad way if Arsenal are forced to play Mikel Merino up front, according to Watts, who said: “It's really important for Arsenal that Gyokeres makes it.

"I don't know yet if that's going to happen - it'll be a late decision. But Arsenal would have been doing everything they could for him to be fit, because it's just a completely different game if it’s Merino playing up.

Arsenal vs. Tottenham a "completely different game" with Mikel Merino

“They're not going to have someone stretching that Tottenham defence, pulling them down the channels like they would with Gyokeres making the runs we've seen him make so well. It’s a huge contest if he is fit for them, and it's one that Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard will benefit from because there will be space.

“He will drag Van de Ven, Cristian Romero out of position. If it’s Merino, that just won't happen. Merino’s got his qualities and can score goals. But I said this last week – if you asked Van de Ven and Romero who would you rather mark, I think we all know exactly what their answer would be.”

Merino has been chalking up the goal contributions for Arsenal since Gyokeres's injury, scoring two of his own against Slavia Prague in the Champions League before setting up Bukayo Saka's goal in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland two weekends ago.

That four-goal stalemate ended Arsenal's marvellous run of 10 successive wins and eight consecutive clean sheets across all competitions, but Arteta's men have won each of their last five at the Emirates Stadium without shipping a single goal.

However, the Gunners' arch-rivals possess the best away record in the Premier League after 11 gameweeks, winning four and drawing one of their five matches on enemy territory, compared to their meagre five points from six home contests.

Watts has therefore warned Arsenal to be wary of Tottenham counter-attacks, but Arteta and co should not be too fearful of Spurs' stellar away record because, simply put, the Gunners are the "better team".

Why Arsenal should not worry about Tottenham's stellar away form

“I don't think it'll worry Arsenal," Watts said when asked about Tottenham's away form. "It's certainly something that people will talk about before the game, it's a warranted discussion because Tottenham have been very, very good on the road. But I don't think Arsenal will be worried.

“There's no way Arsenal will be worried about Tottenham. They'll go into it thinking they're going to win, they're a stronger team. Tottenham are a good side, clearly they've got some weird psychological barrier playing at home. But away from home, they just feel a little bit freer.

“Maybe they're a team that enjoy the space, can play on the counter-attack a lot better, and they're going to get more opportunities to do that away from home. It's something Arsenal are going to have to be mindful of, trying not to leave as much space to be exposed on the counter.

“But Arsenal are going to focus on themselves. If Arsenal play well, if they do the good things right that they usually do, then in my mind, they win this game because they're the better team. It's as simple as that.”

While Arsenal could be missing eight players for the North London derby, Spurs have received a sensational eight injury boosts before their trip to the Emirates, where they have not prevailed in the Premier League since 2010.

> Click here to listen to the full Arsenal vs. Tottenham North London derby preview

No Data Analysis info