Tottenham injury boost confirmed for Arsenal North London derby amid conflicting Igor Tudor claims

Tottenham Hotspur manager Igor Tudor has confirmed one injury boost ahead of the North London derby, as Richarlison is in with a chance of making the cut.

The former Juventus and Marseille boss has inherited Thomas Frank's fitness crisis since replacing his Danish counterpart and revealed that he only had 13 senior players to work with in training on Friday.

The likes of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert are all sidelined, as is Cristian Romero, who will serve the second of a four-match ban against Arsenal this weekend.

There was little in the way of team news during Tudor's first press conference, during which the Croatian outlined his number one priority for the club ahead of his baptism of fire.

Tudor did reveal that Dominic Solanke should be fine to face Arsenal following a throat problem, but he also admitted that he was not expecting any players back, a slight surprise given that Richarlison was spotted in training during the week.

Tottenham vs. Arsenal: Richarlison back fit for North London derby

However, Tudor's embargoed quotes from Friday's press conference have now been released, and the Lilywhites will be able to count on Richarlison, conflicting the manager's earlier claims.

The game will come too soon for Pedro Porro, though; the Spanish right-back is instead targeting a return for the London derby with Fulham at Craven Cottage next Sunday.

"Richy is back. Tel was there. Others you already know. [Porro] no. Next week," football.london quotes Tudor as saying, as Richarlison gears up for a potential first appearance since January 10, when he sustained his hamstring problem against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

The Brazilian has missed seven games in all competitions with the problem, although he had stayed injury-free in 2025-26 beforehand, registering eight goals and three assists in 31 matches for the Lilywhites.

Richarlison's presence and Solanke's recovery mean that Tudor has four out-and-out strikers available for the North London derby, as Tel and Randal Kolo Muani - who worked with the Croat at Juventus - can also function in the number nine role.

Comparing Richarlison and Dominic Solanke's records against Arsenal

With Odobert, Kulusevski and Kudus all sidelined, one of Spurs' strikers will likely have to act as an emergency winger on Sunday; Tel and Kolo Muani are the best-positioned for such a job.

As a result, Richarlison and Solanke should engage in a straight shootout to lead the line against Mikel Arteta's side, but the latter's record makes for extremely disappointing reading.

Indeed, Solanke has faced Arsenal seven times during his career, has ended up on the losing side all seven times, and has failed to register a single goal or assist against the Gunners.

During Solanke's time at Bournemouth, the Cherries lost eight of their nine Premier League games against Arsenal; the one exception - a 1-1 draw in 2019-20 - came when the striker was an unused substitute.

Richarlison has hardly been prolific against the Gunners either, but the Brazilian has provided three goals and one assist in 15 games vs. Arsenal, including a phenomenal long-range consolation in November's 4-1 defeat at the Emirates.