Next Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur will get to show the rest of the Premier League what they are made of, as Thomas Frank will have to face his most important match as Spurs coach yet. Because for as big as a UEFA Supercup battle with PSG is or a matchup against Chelsea may be, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - bigger than the North London Derby, maybe not even in the entire Premier League as a whole.
Spurs are reeling a bit after drawing Manchester United 2-2 in the Premier League in the final matchup before the November international break, but they recently got a boost that they should not take for granted going into next Sunday vs. Arsenal.
In the Brazil national team's 2-0 friendly win over Senegal, Arsenal star center back Gabriel Magalhaes had to leave the pitch during the match with an adductor injury, as confirmed by national team manager Carlo Ancelotti. Further testing will reveal the true extent of the injury to Gabriel, but with just about a week before the North London Derby, Gabriel's injury is a massive result for Tottenham and Arsenal in very different ways.
All eyes will be on Mathys Tel then
Because even if Gabriel is able to play against Spurs and recover in time from this, adductor injuries have a way of lingering. It may make Arsenal more hesitant about playing him, and if he does play, he won't be at his full 100 percent best, which is something Tottenham can try to take advantage of.
Now, Arsenal do have an amazing new third choice center back in Cristhian Mosquera, who they shrewdly picked up in the summer transfer window from Valencia. But nobody can replace Gabriel, who has honestly been the best pure defensive player in the Premier League this season, as much as some Spurs fans may hate to admit that fact.
Any injury to Gabriel, even if it ends up being just a little nick, is a big deal. And Tottenham need any attacking advantage they can get, since they have been absolutely putrid in that sense with not even Frank being able to pick them up out of their slump.
With Richarlison struggling again last week vs. Manchester United, young Mathys Tel, who scored an important goal off the bench as a striker, is expected to draw the start at the 9. Not having to face Gabriel - or facing a less amped up Gabriel - will be huge for the young Frenchman, who can't afford to be bullied out of the game.