Tottenham Hotspur are gearing up to face bitter rivals Arsenal on Sunday in the North London Derby, which will be the biggest match of Thomas Frank's young career to this point. Although Frank has already faced off against Manchester City, PSG, and Chelsea this season as Spurs coach, there's nothing in the Premier League quite like the North London Derby.
Already, Spurs fans are glued to not just injury updates on their key players like Randal Kolo Muani, but also injury updates on Arsenal's hobbled stars. They will likely have to face captain Martin Odegaard and will be ready for left back Riccardo Calafiori, whereas they 100 percent won't have to deal with star center back Gabriel Magalhaes.
The last big uncertainty for Sunday's game to watch is Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres. He has been out for about the last three weeks since suffering a hamstring injury in a Premier League bout against Burnley, and The Sun's Charlie Wyett and Joshua Jones are now reporting that the 27-year-old star is still in doubt for the North London Derby against Spurs.
Tottenham's defenders could attack more
Gyokeres may not be able to play this weekend, which would likely mean Mikel Merino gets the start from midfield as the makeshift No. 9 again. Merino has thrived in this role and is a very dangerous player who has been quietly excellent for both club and country this season, so the former Real Sociedad man starting for Gyokeres isn't a full on reprieve for the Tottenham defense.
But it would be a huge boost, considering Gyokeres is an incredibly strong and fast No. 9 who can stretch teams and pull players out of position for Bukayo Saka to get more shots on. Arsenal have been a much better team since signing Gyokeres this past summer transfer window, so the latest update of his status being a doubt for Sunday's game is a big one for Tottenham to take with them into Friday and the weekend.
Tottenham superstar center back Cristian Romero is the only player to mark Erling Haaland out, and his partner Micky van de Ven has been just as good. Them not having to deal with Gyokeres could free them up more offensively, too, as they have been a key source of both creativity and ball progression - as well as direct goals and assists - for a struggling Tottenham Hotspur offense this season. That aspect can't be overlooked either.