Harry Redknapp has backed his former club Tottenham to dent Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes in the upcoming north London derby.
Leaders and title favourites Arsenal visit arch-rivals Spurs on Sunday, desperate to get back to winning ways following two successive draws.
Mikel Arteta’s side, aiming to win Arsenal’s first Premier League title since 2004, were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford last week before throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Wolves on Wednesday night.
The Gunners threatened to tun away with the title race just a few weeks ago but a wobble has left Arsenal just five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.
Arsenal’s lead by the time they face Tottenham will just be two points if Man City beat Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
Tottenham will not only be keen to dent Arsenal’s title hopes but also need the points themselves after slipping to 16th under former manager Thomas Frank.
Spurs’ defeat to Newcastle before last weekend’s FA Cup fixtures left the club just five points above the relegation zone with 12 games remaining.
That loss was the final straw for the Spurs board who decided to sack ex-Brentford manager Frank and appoint Igor Tudor as Tottenham’s interim manager until the end of the season.
A staggering 29 points and 15 places separate Arsenal and Spurs in the Premier League table but Redknapp nevertheless expects the Gunners to drop more points in Sunday’s derby.
‘This is the big one, and a very hard game to predict it,’ Redknapp, who managed Tottenham between 2008 and 2012, told BetVictor.
‘Let’s be honest, who knows what to expect from Spurs. I like Thomas Frank but the performances of late have been really poor and they probably needed a change.
‘Tudor’s come in and he’s got a decent reputation in Italy but how will he get on at Spurs, only time will tell. Talk about an early test for him though!
‘As for Arsenal, who knows what to expect? I cannot believe they blew that game against Wolves, that’s just so unlike them and boy, has that put pressure on this game.
‘Are those Arsenal lads beginning to feel the pressure? That Spurs crowd should lift the players and make this a closer game that some might expect.
‘I can see a nervy, entertaining draw! Bukayo Saka is one to watch as well, he’s signed a new deal and he’ll want to celebrate in style here.’
Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith expects a more comfortable afternoon for the title-chasing Gunners despite admitting Tudor’s presence provides a bit of uncertainty.
‘None of us quite knows what to expect,’ Smith told BestBettingSites. Igor Tudor seems to be a bit of a firefighter. That’s where he’s had his success at other clubs.
‘He’ll be trying to kick a few backsides, maybe, really rally them, which isn’t easy for a caretaker manager because players will be looking at him thinking, well, you’re not going to be here next season.
‘But if he’s got something about him, maybe he can produce a reaction. And for Arteta, he’s thinking, “oh, how are they going to set up? How are they going to play?”
‘So Tottenham and Tudor are a bit of an unknown quantity from that point of view. That might be something Tudor can take advantage of but I still fancy Arsenal. I’ll do 2-0.’
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Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick as Arsenal thumped Tottenham 4-1 in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium earlier in the season.
Arteta reminded his Arsenal players that they are ‘exactly where we want to be’ ahead of Sunday’s game despite their recent wobble.
‘We have to live the present,’ Arteta said. ‘What we did in the past is great, but we have to live the present, and the present is beautiful.
‘We are exactly where we want to be in every competition but there is still lots to play, and we need to earn it like we have done in the last seven or eight months.’
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