The North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is not too far away.
The Gunners have had an excellent start to the new season and are currently on top of the Premier League table ahead of their 10th game.
Tottenham, on the other hand, are third in the table, five points behind Mikel Arteta’s side.
That makes the derby right after the November international break a fascinating watch, but Spurs boss Thomas Frank will not be too pleased with some news now coming out of Arsenal.
Arsenal and Tottenham have three different games to play before the North London Derby, but both teams will already be looking forward to that fixture.
The Gunners have a fantastic recent record against their North London rivals.
Arteta’s side have lost just one of their last nine games against Spurs. That came all the way back in May 2022, when Antonio Conte was still their manager.
Arsenal are looking near-unstoppable now, and that will strike fear into Frank, who knows their side will go into the game as the underdogs.
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What will scare him even more is that the Gunners could be significantly stronger by the time they face Spurs because three key players could return from their injuries – Noni Madueke, skipper Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz.
When asked if his hope is that the trio will be back for the derby, Arteta said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “Yeah, and I’m excited because they are tremendous players.
“I see them work every single day, how desperate they are to be part of the team, the huge boost that is going to be for the squad to have those players available again after such a long time.
“I’m really happy that I think it’s going to be very soon.”
Tottenham haven’t beaten Arsenal in the Premier League at the Emirates since 2010. If Madueke, Odegaard and Havertz are all back for the upcoming derby, that record is unlikely to change.
The North London Derby week could define Arsenal’s season
Arsenal had the toughest start out of any team in the Premier League this season.
Games against Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle United in the first six fixtures terrified some fans, but the Gunners did well and came out of it on top of the table.
The next tough run of games for Arsenal will be after this month’s international break, and that week could define their season.
Arsenal take on Tottenham to kick things off before welcoming Bayern Munich in the Champions League just three days later. Then, they head to West London to take on Chelsea in the Premier League.
If Arteta’s men take maximum points in the two London derbies that week, they will become even bigger favourites to win the title.