Daily Cannon

Mikel Arteta joked after Arsenal’s win over Tottenham Hotspur that the match officials should be in line for a big fine.

In what was generally a good afternoon for Arsenal fans, one frustrating element of the 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur was the lengthy delay caused by communication issues between the match officials.

After an excellent Arsenal start to the first half, the game was held up by a number of minutes as the officials tried to fix their issue. They then had the same problem in the second half, delaying kick-off to resolve the problem again.

Mikel Arteta shared a joke with reporters about the issue afterwards, suggesting the officials should be in line for a fine.

“Every time we are [late] out of the dressing room, we get huge fines, so I said to them, who’s going to get this fine?” Arteta joked.

“Because that’s six, seven, eight, nine minutes, so someone is going to get a big fine.

“I’m sure that everyone is going to look at Sky, Sky probably to the Premier League, the Premier League to Sky, so, yeah, we’ve got one in the bag now.”

Given the result, Arteta probably wasn’t genuinely angry about the delays. But if the game had gone the other way, you could understand if the Arsenal manager was unhappy about it.

Arsenal had started the game so well, only to have that early momentum killed. But the second-half delay was arguably even more frustrating, as the officials had the entire half-time break to work on the problem, yet they only started fixing it when the game was meant to be getting underway.

For the fans, that meant leaving the ground much later than expected. For the players, that meant needing to stay warm and alert for around 15 minutes longer than in a normal match.

It’s just fortunate that in this particular case, Arsenal won the game comfortably and have a week off to rest before the next one.

Viktor Gyokeres scored a brace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, and he rubbed salt in the wound by refusing to say the home team’s name.

Viktor Gyokeres put in a Player of the Match performance away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, scoring two goals in a 4-1 win and playing a key role in the build-up to Arsenal’s third goal of the game with a clever lay-off.

When asked about his goals after the game, Gyokeres was quick to credit his teammate Eberechi Eze for showing him how to score against Spurs, but he wasn’t so keen to use the name of Arsenal’s north London rivals.

“Yeah, we do that a few times in training, I think,” Gyokeres explained. “And then obviously I watch [Eze’s] goals against these [lot] last game. So yeah, try to replicate it a little bit and yeah, it works. It was a nice goal.”

Gyokeres’ reference to Spurs as “these” was the only time he referenced the team in the Sky Sports interview, otherwise choosing to ignore their existence.

But the striker’s performance against Arsenal’s rivals will certainly be remembered for all the right reasons, and the interviewer asked if he thought it was his best display for the club.

“In some aspects I think yeah, it was a good one,” Gyokeres began. “Then in some other I think I could have done a few bits better. But yeah, it was a tough game, but I think we showed much better things on the pitch today.”

Gyokeres is now up to 15 goals in all competitions for Arsenal this season, as well as a couple of assists.

The striker will want to keep pushing on and racking up the goals in the final few months of the campaign, but he’s increasingly finding his feet in his new team after last year’s summer transfer.

Igor Tudor insists Spurs will go for the three points against Arsenal on Sunday, despite only having 13 senior players guaranteed to be fit.

As covered earlier this week, Tottenham Hotspur will have a number of injury and suspension absentees for Sunday’s visit from Arsenal for the north London derby.

At least 10 players are guaranteed to miss the match, with Cristian Romero suspended and Wilson Odobert, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Ben Davies, Lucas Bergvall, Destiny Udogie, and Kevin Danso all injured.

There’s also some doubt around Richarlison and Pedro Porro, both of whom have hamstring injuries. One or both could return, but there’s no certainty there.

To make matters worse for Spurs, they’ve been sweating on Dominic Solanke this week after he had an issue with his throat, though he’s since returned to training.

Speaking to the media, Spurs boss Igor Tudor admitted they’ve been holding training sessions with just 13 players, but he believes that’s enough to get the win this weekend.

“We made training with 13 players, so it is how it is,” Tudor said. “It’s not fantastic, beautiful, but in this case it’s an even bigger challenge to succeed.

“13 we will have for sure, and it’s quite enough to achieve what we want on Sunday, and that’s the first goal. Of course I understand the importance of this game. This is a derby, north London derby.

“Everybody expects the points, three points from us, and we are aware of this.”

Arsenal have had their own problems over the last week or so, and the pressure is definitely on in the Premier League title race.

But with Spurs sitting 16th in the table and struggling with so many injuries, the Gunners themselves need to be thinking that three points is the bare minimum to take away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur will be without at least 10 players for the north London derby on Sunday, with two more potential starters considered doubts.

Following a damaging draw away to Wolves on Wednesday, Arsenal need to get back to winning ways against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

Spurs are in poor form, sitting 16th in the Premier League table and just five points clear of the relegation zone. But a change in manager and Arsenal’s own recent slip-ups has given the hosts hope that they can pull off a result in the derby.

Yet one major problem for new manager Igor Tudor ahead of the game is that he’ll be without at least 10 players.

Cristian Romero is suspended after his recent red card, whilst Wilson Odobert, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Ben Davies, Lucas Bergvall, Destiny Udogie, and Kevin Danso have all been ruled out through injuries until March at the earliest.

None of those ten players will be involved against Arsenal, but there’s a little more hope in the cases of Richarlison and Pedro Porro, both of whom have hamstring injuries.

Richarlison has been out for Spurs’ last seven games, whilst Porro has missed four, but prior to his sacking ex-Spurs boss Thomas Frank suggested it was a possibility both could return against Arsenal.

“That could be a dream scenario, and it just could happen,” Frank said on January 30th. “We will know a little bit more when we get closer – but it’s in that bracket.”

Arsenal certainly can’t take anything for granted, despite all the Spurs absentees.

The Gunners themselves are likely to be without at least a few players for the game, derby matches often bring surprise results, and after screwing up a 2-0 lead against the worst team in the Premier League on Wednesday, it’s clear that anything can happen if you aren’t up to the task on the day.

Tottenham Hotspur captain, Cristian Romero, will be suspended for the North London derby after a straight red against Manchester United.

With less than half an hour on the clock, Cristian Romero picked up his second red card of the season after a shocking tackle on Manchester United’s Casimero, leaving the midfielder writhing in pain and referee Michael Oliver with no choice but to send the Spurs captain off.

The red, Romero’s sixth of his Spurs’ career, will see him suspended for the next three games meaning he will miss Tottenham’s games against Newcastle, Arsenal and Fulham.

The suspension compounds what was already going to be a difficult tie for Thomas Frank, who is also set to be without James Maddison, out for the season with an ACL injury, Mohammed Kudus, sidelined until March with a tendon problem, Rodrigo Bentancur, facing around three months out after hamstring surgery, Richarlison, ruled out for up to seven weeks with a hamstring setback, Ben Davies, who requires surgery on an ankle fracture, and Lucas Bergvall, sidelined for an estimated two to three months with a high ankle sprain.

James Wilson was linked with Arsenal ahead of transfer deadline day, but here’s why the young Hearts striker ended up joining Tottenham Hotspur instead.

Ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, Fabrizio Romano and Sami Mokbel of the BBC reported that Arsenal had made contact with Hearts over a loan move for 18-year-old striker James Wilson. Yet by the end of the window, Wilson had officially signed for Tottenham Hotspur instead.

In some ways, the deal to sign for Spurs was a similar one. Wilson has only moved to his new club on an initial loan, just as Arsenal were offering.

But the key difference is that Spurs have included an option to make the move permanent in the summer. Arsenal weren’t offering such an option, effectively viewing their initial loan offer as a trial for Wilson to prove himself ahead of a potential summer bid.

So perhaps part of the reason Spurs ended up securing the signing was because that purchase clause made the deal more appealing to Wilson and Hearts, but there’s also no evidence Arsenal ever followed up on their initial interest.

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes told the media on Monday afternoon that they hadn’t heard anything back from Arsenal after the Gunners’ initial contact on Sunday, saying: “There was a conversation with Arsenal [on Sunday], they called and spoke to Graeme [Jones, sporting director].

“But there’s been nothing since from Arsenal…those conversations with Arsenal were yesterday, we’ve heard nothing back from Arsenal today.”

Arsenal were clearly on the lookout for a youth forward, making contact with Hearts for Wilson and St. Mirren for Evan Mooney over the weekend. But after reaching an agreement to sign Mooney, there wasn’t quite as much need to bring in Wilson as well.

The Gunners also remain in the hunt for Igor Tyjon of Blackburn Rovers. Though they’ve now had many bids knocked back by the player’s club, he’ll be out of contract this summer.

With Mooney joining in the short term and the potential to add Tyjon in the summer, signing Wilson as well might have been overkill. That likely explains why Arsenal went cold after their initial talks, and why Spurs were ultimately able to snap the player up.

Rodri’s post-match comments following Manchester City’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur could constitute a breach of The FA’s Rules and Regulations.

Speaking after Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead to draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, City midfielder Rodri was incensed by what he believed to be an incorrect refereeing decision for Spurs’ opening goal.

The 29-year-old insisted the goal came from a clear foul, before going on to rant about City’s recent treatment by referees.

“I don’t know how to feel, honestly,” Rodri told Stan Sport. “Now I see the images, on the pitch of course you cannot see, basically a foul in the first action of the goal, it’s a clear foul! And VAR is for a reason, and these small details make the difference.

“It’s one game, and another game, and another game. It’s not possible.”

“But it’s not [just] today, it’s just two, three games in a row, and I don’t know why, honestly,” Rodri added.

“I know we won too much and the people they just don’t want us to win, but the referee has to be neutral. And for me, honestly, it’s not fair.

“We need to be fair in these situations. It’s not just one, because everyone can [make] a mistake, we all have mistakes, no worries about one. But when it’s one, two, three, four in a row…it’s not possible.”

Whilst most of Rodri’s comments fall into the same bracket as the usual complaints you get from players about referees and decisions, the comments implying people “just don’t want us to win” could prove problematic for him.

FA guidance states that they may take action in cases of “any comment which implies or appears to allege bias on the part of a match official”.

Rodri’s comments could also be considered to bring the game into disrepute, given the implication that the officials are pushing for a particular sporting outcome.

Pep Guardiola believes Jeremy Doku will miss Manchester City’s game against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, after he was forced out of Wednesday’s match against Galatasaray with an injury.

Jeremy Doku made an excellent start to Manchester City’s final Champions League League Phase game on Wednesday, setting up both of his team’s goals against Galatasaray.

But after just 37 minutes, Doku limped out of the contest with an injury.

Speaking after the game, Pep Guardiola confirmed that Doku was “injured”, adding that the problem was “a calf, [he] felt something”.

Guardiola added: “It’s a big miss. Jeremy is such an important player for many reasons. The creativity in the final third. But yeah, we’ll see.”

When asked whether Doku would miss City’s trip away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, the City boss responded: “I think so.”

Doku has already struggled with muscle injuries in recent months, missing three Premier League games and one League Cup game in December.

This would be very poor timing for another similar setback, with City playing Spurs (A), Newcastle (H – League Cup semi-final), and Liverpool (A) in their next three matches.

Doku didn’t make many friends in Arsenal circles ahead of the Galatasaray game, responding to a question about the Gunners’ defeat to Manchester United by laughing and saying: “Obviously if they lose, it’s better for us for sure.”

But the winger did add: “I saw that they lost, but I knew there are a lot of games in this competition. And I knew that United, we lost against them. There are a lot of games and we just need to focus on ourselves.”

Richarlison and Ben Davies have become the fourth and fifth Tottenham Hotspur players to be ruled out of the north London derby, still more than a month before the game.

Last week, we covered reports that Tottenham Hotspur had suffered three injuries to key players, with two almost immediately ruled out of the next north London derby.

First, Mohammed Kudus suffered a thigh injury, with Thomas Frank confirming it’s a tendon injury that will rule the player out until after the March international break.

Then, Rodrigo Bentancur tore his hamstring, with Sami Mokbel reporting for the BBC that the midfielder will need surgery and at least three months on the sidelines.

Richarlison then suffered an apparent hamstring injury as Spurs were eliminated from the FA Cup by Aston Villa, and further assessment has confirmed the forward is also facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“Richy, unfortunately, got a hamstring injury which will keep him out for up to seven weeks,” Frank confirmed ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

A seven-week absence from the date of Frank’s comments would mean a return on March 5th, but even just six weeks out would mean missing the north London derby against Arsenal on February 22nd.

Then Ben Davies has also been ruled out after Spurs confirmed he’s having surgery on an ankle fracture, and James Maddison remains out with his ACL injury, meaning at least five Spurs players are expected to miss the game.

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a few significant injury setbacks over the last week, with multiple players now ruled out of next month’s north London derby.

Over the last week, Tottenham Hotspur have suffered three injuries to key players, with two already definitely ruled out of Arsenal’s visit in February.

First, Mohammed Kudus suffered a thigh injury, with Thomas Frank confirming it’s a tendon injury that will rule the player out until after the March international break.

Then, Rodrigo Bentancur tore his hamstring, with Sami Mokbel reporting for the BBC that the midfielder will need surgery and at least three months on the sidelines.

To compound Spurs’ woes at the weekend, Richarlison also suffered an apparent hamstring injury as they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Aston Villa.

“It looks like [a hamstring injury], but we haven’t assessed him yet,” Frank said afterwards.

If Richarlison’s injury ends up being anywhere near as bad as Bentancur’s, he’ll miss the Arsenal clash on February 22nd as well. But at this stage, only Kudus and Bentancur are confirmed absentees for the derby.

James Maddison also remains out of action for Spurs with an ACL injury, whilst Dejan Kulusevski could potentially make his comeback in time for Arsenal if the next month of rehabilitation goes well.