Arsenal are set to be without some big names when they face Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, but Mikel Arteta has other options at his disposal
Mikel Arteta has four huge decisions to make ahead of the north London derby. Arsenal host Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they each look to return to winning ways.
Before the international break, Sunderland held the Gunners to a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light. The Lilywhites also dropped points, squandering a stoppage-time lead to Manchester United on home turf.
Since Arteta replaced Unai Emery in the dugout, Arsenal have only lost to Tottenham three times, with two of those coming in the Spaniard's debut campaign. The third and most recent defeat to Spurs was in May 2022, when Harry Kane dumped the Gunners out of the race for Champions League qualification.
Arsenal have won five of their six meetings with the Lilywhites since. This weekend, the Premier League leaders have the opportunity to record a fourth consecutive victory against Tottenham for the first time since 1989.
So, with history to be made, football.london has looked at four key decisions that could swing the tie in Arteta's favour.
Arteta faces Saliba dilemma
Gabriel Magalhaes suffered a thigh injury over the international break. The 27-year-old defender was forced to come off during Brazil's 2-0 friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday.
He's due to undergo another scan next week; however, Arteta has already confirmed the centre-back could be out for a matter of 'weeks'. Fortunately, the Spaniard has a wealth of options at his disposal when selecting a new partner for William Saliba.
Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie have shown great promise since joining the Gunners from Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively, in the summer transfer window. Jurrien Timber and Ben White could also replace Gabriel in the backline, though they're often preferred at right-back.
Arsenal trio push for starring role
With Viktor Gyokeres somewhat a doubt for the north London derby, Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino, and Leandro Trossard will have been looking to catch Arteta's eye in training this week. The first of the three is the only natural striker on paper, although he's recently come back from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Jesus has only recently returned to first-team training as he looks to rebuild his fitness following an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Merino has impressed whenever he's been asked to lead the frontline, while Trossard's eye for goal makes him a worthy candidate for the vacancy up top.
Lewis-Skelly battles for Arsenal chance
Riccardo Calafiori missed each of Italy's final World Cup qualifiers due to injury. With question marks over the 23-year-old defender's availability, Arteta could hand Myles Lewis-Skelly his first Premier League start of the season.
The Hale End graduate faces tough competition for a place in the starting lineup, with Hincapie also capable of playing left-back. Timber has played on the opposite flank in the past, so he too could cover Calafiori.
Frank helps Arteta make Eze decision
Thomas Frank aimed a cheeky dig at Eberechi Eze in his pre-match press conference. The Dane was asked whether he thought Tottenham had wrapped up a deal for the former Crystal Palace maestro before Arsenal swooped in.
"Who's Eze?" replied Frank with a straight face. After a brief awkward silence, the Spurs boss added: "Very good player. He plays for Arsenal – a team we want to beat on Sunday."
Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke are both close to returning from spells on the sidelines. While it's unlikely that they'll start on Sunday afternoon, Frank's remark will have given Eze the ammunition he needs to fire Arsenal to victory.