It will all be on the line for Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday at the Emirates Stadium when Thomas Frank plays out his first ever North London Derby against an Arsenal team that is first in the Premier League and truly looks capable of getting the gorilla of their back under MIkel Arteta by winning the league title.
Although Arsenal do come into this matchup with a rash of injuries, there is no question that Tottenham have, once again, been hit the hardest of any club on the injury front. Coming into this game, specifically, there were lingering questions about the statuses of Lucas Bergvall and Randal Kolo Muani, who are both important to Spurs success. There was also concern about the severity of Archie Gray's injury.
Well, Tottenham have been given a huge boost on the injury front in the training sessions on Friday before Sunday's matchup with Arsenal. Because according to the club's official web site, both striker Randal Kolo Muani and center midfielder Lucas Bergvall were able to practice for the team. Bergvall will be ready to play against Arsenal, while Kolo Muani is strongly in contention to play. And quietly, Archie Gray returned to practice as well, though he may not be able to play on Sunday.
Tottenham are on the verge of having their forward
The Swedish midfielder Bergvall had been out with a concussion, but he is now cleared to play. It remains to be seen if Thomas Frank will start him against Arsenal. It's more likely he will have a role to play off the bench, as either Pape Matar Sarr or Rodrigo Bentancur will likely draw the start alongside Joao Palhinha at the base of the Tottenham midfield. Gray almost certainly won't play, but the fact that he is training is huge news for Tottenham regardless.
Now the real key injury news is Kolo Muani. While he is not fully cleared to play, he was given a special fitting mask for his jaw injury, which occurred in the first half of a 2-2 draw with Manchester United on the Saturday Premier League matchup before the November international break began.