In addition to the Full-time Result and Featured RequestABet markets outlined in a previous article - Sky Bet are offering four Price Boosts for today's highly-anticipated north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
The first two boosts we will be dissecting include Kai Havertz to win 2+ fouls, and Bukayo Saka to have 2+ shots on target.
The odds for those two bets are 1/1 and 3/1 respectively.
Havertz has won five fouls in the Premier League to date this season, while Saka has registered seven shots on target in 2024-25.
The other two boosts available for this contest require each team to have 2+ shots on target in each half at 4/1, and Saka to score from outside the area at 16/1.
Tottenham and Arsenal combined to record 13 shots on target in their most recent league game.
Sky Bet Price Boosts for Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal:
Kai Havertz to win 2+ fouls WAS 4/5 NOW 1/1
Bukayo Saka to have 2+ shots on target WAS 2/1 NOW 3/1
Each team to have 2+ shots on target in each half WAS 5/2 NOW 4/1
Bukayo Saka to score from outside the area WAS 12/1 NOW 16/1
The Premier League is back with a bang this weekend, with Tottenham and Arsenal set to battle it out in the first north London derby of the season on Sunday.
Spurs will be looking to reignite their top-four charge after a mixed start to the season, while Arsenal will see this fixture as a must-win as they vie for their first Premier League title in 20 years.
Mikel Arteta is facing a midfield crisis, with captain Martin Odegaard a major doubt after getting injured during Norway's win against Austria, Declan Rice unavailable as he serves his suspension, and new signing Mikel Merino ruled out with a shoulder fracture.
Spurs have several selection headaches of their own, meanwhile, with Richarlison sidelined against Newcastle after picking up an injury in training, and Yves Bissouma limping off during Mali's clash with Eswatini. Dominic Solanke is also a doubt.
After back-to-back home losses against their fierce rivals, how many of Ange Postecoglou's men would get into a starting XI alongside Arsenal's injury-ridden squad? Here is Mail Sport's combined Spurs and Arsenal XI.
Goalkeeper: David Raya
While sweeper keeper Guglielmo Vicario has comfortably stepped into club legend Hugo Lloris' boots, Raya's league-leading 16 clean sheets last season makes him a clear pick.
Raya has benefited from a rock-solid back line, but has proven that he can be called upon to make those decisive saves in Arsenal's title charge.
Right back: Pedro Porro
Tottenham's dynamic full-back partnership of Porro and Udogie will be key to their hopes of returning to the Champions League next season.
Centre-half-turned-right-back Ben White has proved a reliable option on the right side of Arsenal's formidable defence.
But with Porro's rocket of a shot and impressive seven assists last season - the most of any Premier League defender other than Kieran Trippier - he could be a difference-maker in what is sure to be a tightly contested derby.
Centre back: William Saliba
Centre-half is arguably the strongest position for both Arsenal and Spurs, but the composed French defender has to be one of the first names on the team sheet.
Saliba is a mainstay in Arsenal's backline and racked up an impressive 18 clean sheets last season, which was more than any other player in the league.
Centre back: Cristian Romero
Both Micky van de Ven and Gabriel Magalhaes are unlucky to miss out after their displays last season proved why they are two of the best centre backs in the world.
World Cup winner Romero, though, has become an assured leader in Tottenham's defence after honing in some of his signature recklessness.
The world-class defender is known for his crunching tackles, but even chipped in with some goals as the Premier League's highest scoring defender last season.
Left back: Destiny Udogie
Jurrien Timber has started two of Arsenal's three opening games and looks set to cement his place in the first team side this season, but Udogie is the obvious choice here.
Arsenal's new signing Riccardo Calafiori would undoubtedly be in the discussion, but the defender is another injury doubt after taking a painful knock to the calf for Italy against France.
The young Italian has reinvigorated Spurs' attack with his marauding runs down the flank, while shoring up his team's at-times shaky defence with his crunching tackles.
Holding midfielder: Thomas Partey
The outstanding Declan Rice would be a clear choice here if not for his suspension after being sent off against Brighton.
With Yves Bissouma also an injury doubt for Spurs, the role naturally falls to Partey.
The ball-winning midfielder has started all three of Arsenal's opening games, and will offer much-needed press resistance in the midfield against Spurs' aggressive high line.
Central midfielder: James Maddison
The creative midfielder got off to a dazzling start at Tottenham with eight goal contributions in his first nine games, but his season was largely hampered by a long-term injury.
With two assists to his name already this season, Maddison looks well on track to rediscovering his form and adding a much-needed creative spark to this Spurs side.
Central midfielder: Kai Havertz
Usually deployed as a false nine, the versatile Havertz is one of the few midfield options available to Arteta this weekend.
The technically gifted German chipped in with 20 goal contributions last season, and would certainly form an eye-catching partnership with Maddison in midfield.
Right wing: Bukayo Saka
While Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski had decent showings last season, this one is a no-brainer.
Saka was excellent in Arsenal's last campaign and had his highest scoring season to date, racking up 16 goals along with nine assists.
With his quick feet and frightening pace, the young Englishman is an absolute terror for any backline he comes up against.
Left wing: Son Heung-Min
Although Tottenham's captain has had stints at centre forward, playing out wide is where he shines.
The 32-year-old was again among the top scorers last season with 17 goals, along with an impressive 10 assists.
The clinical South Korean is still one of Tottenham's best players and commands a place in the starting line-up.
Striker: Dominic Solanke
Arguably the most difficult position to fill with Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison both struggling with injuries.
Solanke has been sidelined with an ankle injury, but after being close to a return against Newcastle, the striker looks fit to take part in his first north London derby.
The £65million club record signing was a revelation last season, scoring 19 goals while playing for a mid-table Bournemouth side.
Spurs fans are understandably eager to see what the striker can achieve alongside the likes of Son and Maddison.
One of the delights of listening to David Pleat talk football is that there is no telling where any given storyline might travel through the memories he has filed away from a lifetime in the game.
The time he went to cast an eye over Son Heung-min playing for Hamburg pivots to a signed shirt from Harry Kane before settling on Clive Allen’s 49-goal season for Tottenham.
‘Just a brilliant finisher,’ says Pleat, 79. ‘Clive liked to feel the net. At the end of a session on a Friday he would finish right and left-foot volleys into a little five-a-side goal, bang, bang, bang.
‘We had wonderful suppliers for him. Glenn Hoddle in a lovely loose position where he didn’t have to worry about what was behind him. Ossie Ardiles was the link man. Paul Allen was the ferret. Steve Hodge was underrated, he worked the left side, out to wide and back inside, whereas Chris Waddle was a very orthodox winger, chalk on his boots and very dangerous on the right.
‘We were unbalanced but Hoddle was free to take up any position he wanted. He really enjoyed it and went on to play for Monaco in the same position. And he gives all the credit evidently to Arsene Wenger because of the nutrition but that’s when he was at his best, in our five-man midfield.’
These crisp little conversational triangles with disguised angles echo the way he liked his teams to play football and traces of humour make for a fascinating 90 minutes in his company. His knowledge is vast, his mind is still sharp.
Pleat, immersed in professional football for 62 years since his debut as a nippy winger for Nottingham Forest, now skips through time with swift and certain recall, reviving great characters such as John Lyall, the former West Ham manager.
‘I always liked John, a really nice man although he did nick Frank McAvennie off me,’ he says. ‘I’ll always remember McAvennie, black shirt, white tie, red socks.
‘I had him down from St Mirren in the Bedford Arms in Woburn. I shouldn’t have let him get away that night. Too many people in the room, that was one problem. Our chairman slapped him on the head and said, “Welcome to Luton, Macca” and that annoyed him.
‘He wanted a basic wage of £400 a week. We couldn’t pay it. I told him with bonuses he could be making £450 a week but £400 a week was his statement.
‘This went on until about half past 10 and then he got away and when the secretary went to pick him up the following morning he’d gone. John met him at 2am at Toddington and signed him.’
Many of his favourite tales are self-deprecatory, like the closing chapter of his first managerial job at Nuneaton Borough. His goalkeeper missed a big game against Ron Atkinson’s Kettering to have a vasectomy and his replacement conceded four. Atkinson reckons it was 4-0. Pleat is sure it was 4-1. Either way, Pleat was out of work the next day.
‘The best sacking though came at Leicester,’ he goes on. ‘We had no money. We lost Russell Osman, Gary McAllister and Mike Newell, and never replaced them properly. The chairman Terry Shipman would say, “You’ve got us loads of pounds but no points”.
‘Then one day he rang me up and said, “We’ve had a board meeting and it’s bad news. The board — not me — they’ve decided you’ve got to go”. I said, “It’s OK Mr Chairman, you’ve been good to me”. And he said, “It’s worse than that. They want me out as well”.’
The passion burns through. Love for the game, you might call it. Despite all the punishing blows it can dispense. All the sackings and the public criticism that goes with the territory.
Tottenham have let him go three times since his appointment as manager in 1986. Most recently this summer when released from a role as recruitment consultant, another victim of technical director Johan Lange’s crusade towards a data-driven future.
‘Scouts don’t get thanked,’ says Pleat. ‘There was a great Welsh scout at Luton called Cyril Beech, a full back at Swansea in the years of Terry Medwin and John Charles.
‘Cyril would write a long letter to me every two weeks. I could hardly decipher his handwriting but in that letter would be about six names, players he thought were good enough for us. We signed nearly every one.
‘I’m sure we never thanked him as we should. You’ll always need the eyes and ears of the scouts. There are things you don’t see on the data.’
His second Spurs exit marked the end of his tenure as the club’s first director of football, having been appointed by Lord Sugar in 1998 at a time when very few on these shores saw any value in the role.
‘Sugar was a visionary,’ says Pleat. ‘One, Sky dishes. Two, directors of football, because now they’ve all got them. Three, prune juice.
‘He told the Premier League chairmen the new TV money coming in would be like prune juice. He said they’d p*** it up the wall. And they did. He wanted them to cap salaries at 60 per cent and invest the rest in new academies and training centres.
‘He could be brusque — I can picture him walking around the boardroom table munching on his celery and grapes with the chief executive and secretary looking up at him — but he did have a bit of humour.’
Another Sugarism stuck with Pleat. ‘He said, “Just remember, when anyone comes and asks the price of a player you tell them lobster. Just say lobster”. I said, “What do you mean, lobster?” He said, “Price of the Day”. That’s what Sugar said, “Tell them lobster”. It’s what they’ve done with Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace.’
Pleat’s first Spurs exit, however, remains by some distance the most painful and the hardest to discuss. Forced out of the manager’s job after the lurid headlines in a tabloid newspaper, a story based upon the claims of a sex worker which he has always fiercely refuted.
He calls it a ‘salacious farrago of inventions’ and ‘a complete fabrication’ as he returns to the subject for the first time in his autobiography Just One More Goal. ‘I had to address it,’ says Pleat. ‘It’s been an important element of my life. It’s not something I’m pleased about, and I find it difficult to talk about, absolutely.’
He devotes a chapter to it, entitled ‘Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down’, which was a note that came with flowers from Elton John at the time, and explains how a series of clues fell into place, leading him to suspect former Luton chairman David Evans had set him up as revenge for walking out of the club for
Tottenham. Evans, who died in 2008, had threatened ‘you’ll pay for this’ after Pleat confirmed his intention to leave. As a Conservative MP for a decade from June 1987, Evans had power and influence.
‘Like a detective, the pieces of this ugly jigsaw now fell into place before me,’ Pleat writes. ‘I could see Evans now, turning towards me on my driveway on the day he had failed to prevent me joining Tottenham, shouting, “You’ll pay for this”. I paid and my family paid a terrible, grievous price.
‘There were times I felt unable to leave the house. I felt swallowed up by the shame of the accusations.’
Pleat’s final game as Spurs boss was a north London derby, won 2-1 by Arsenal whose supporters revelled in his discomfort. A month earlier, Spurs had been second. This defeat left them in seventh and chairman Irving Scholar suggested he should resign.
‘I had no other alternative at the time,’ Pleat reflects. ‘The headlines were so strong I couldn’t resist them. It was too much to handle. Scholar was quite supportive at first but we’d fallen out over one or two things and in the end, he turned the other way and I think it’s because they’d spoken to Terry Venables and it semi-suited them.
‘So it was difficult. What do you do? I didn’t have a solicitor at the time. No one to turn to. This was before Elton John and one or two others had won big damages. If you go to court, there’s an outside chance of losing.’
Tottenham finished third in his only full season, Allen scored 49 goals and they lost to Coventry in a thrilling FA Cup final.
‘People ask me if we would have gone on to be a better team with time,’ he says. ‘I’m not sure. Hoddle was disappearing to Monaco. Ossie was 35.’ People also wonder if Pleat might have gone on to manage England without the scandal. ‘I never thought about it,’ he replies. Although one thing is for sure, the inexorable rise came to a halt.
It started at Luton, where he had been initially tasked with odd-jobs like taking lottery tickets and spot-the-ball coupons to schools and factories, before taking over as reserve coach and then replacing Harry Haslam as first-team boss.
This, Pleat identifies as his happiest time. Learning his craft and building his team. Winning promotion to the top flight as champions, avoiding an instant relegation with that final-day win at Manchester City when he came skipping on to the pitch in celebration, hugging his captain Brian Horton.
Luton became established. They were ninth in his final season and Pleat had a reputation for spotting talent such as Ricky Hill, Brian Stein and Mal Donaghy and reviving careers of those like Mick Harford and Steve Foster.
‘Every year things got a little bit better,’ he says. ‘The board tolerated me, the crowd started enjoying how we were playing. I made good signings. David Moss for £100,000, a very good left winger who got 24 goals one season. Hill for nothing. Stein I saw playing for Edgware Town one night.
‘David Preece from Walsall, Peter Nicholas from Crystal Palace, Foster from Villa reserves, Harford from Birmingham reserves, all four were successful and that’s hard to do. Get three out of every five wrong in recruitment and eventually you’ll lose your job. I must have been lucky.’
Nine of Luton’s League Cup winning team of 1988 were signed by Pleat, who was an emotional observer from the TV gantry at Wembley, where he was on co-commentary with Brian Moore. By then, he had been in and out of Tottenham and was managing in the second tier at Leicester.
There followed a return to Luton and relegation at the outset of the Premier League, and two years at Sheffield Wednesday which was his last permanent managerial role, although he stepped in as Tottenham’s caretaker on three occasions while director of football.
Pleat hardly fails to reel off players he missed. They include Stuart Pearce and Kevin Phillips but his sharp eye for talent endured, and his belief that unpolished gems still exist in football’s depths remains strong.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy trusted him to evaluate a player and employed him for 14 years as a recruitment consultant. Pleat was the force behind signing Dele Alli from Milton Keynes Dons and played a significant role in others, including Son, Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen.
Although he has become increasingly frustrated by football’s appetite to bring in players from abroad. ‘I’ve always thought the academies should be producing players for the senior team,’ says Pleat. ‘That’s the idea of a youth policy. Now it’s not happening.’
Perhaps Pleat is thinking back to his own flying start, a Nottingham Forest debut at 17 years and 33 days making him the club’s youngest player after caps for England Schoolboys. At 23 he was a fully qualified coach and at 26 player-manager of Nuneaton.
‘I’ve been blessed to survive,’ he says. ‘Many people I know haven’t had long careers in the game so I’m very grateful.
‘But I don’t like to hear people saying the game’s better now than ever. Is it? I’d like to think the game was as good then as it is now. And the great players from then would still be great players today.
‘They’d be fitter and playing on beautiful grass pitches with a lovely ball and lightweight boots, the modern player has so many advantages, but don’t you think Tony Currie, Alan Hudson and Paul Gascoigne wouldn’t be good players today? Of course they would. We’ve turned the game into rocket science and they’re selling you something on every corner. There used to be a greater camaraderie inside football.
‘The game is still a beautiful game. A ballet, a wonderful athletic game at the best level, but I have to say it has lost its charm.’
Just One More Goal by David Pleat, published by Biteback, £20.
Tottenham Hotspur star Richarlison is being sued by his 'underpaid servant' who claims he was unfairly sacked.
The Brazilian striker, who joined Spurs from Everton for £60million, is being taken to a tribunal by Reginaldo Pereira, who says he was axed in the cinema room of the player's mansion.
Mr Pereira, 60, has since said he was left physically and emotionally broken by his dismissal, according to The Sun.
A source said: 'He feels like he was used as a dogsbody, who worked around the clock, and then was unfairly dumped.'
It comes as another blow for a Tottenham player in the week midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was threatened with a 12-match suspension for making an alleged racist remark about South Koreans whilst on Uruguayan TV.
Mr Pereira is believed to have worked for Richarlison since he was at Watford, but he claims the £130,000-a-week star paid his £500-a-week wages straight into his account and did not grant him holidays.
In papers seen by The Sun, Mr Pereira, who is claiming £95,000 for unfair dismissal, says: 'I faced long working hours, excessive demands and verbal abuse - especially from Antonio Marcos de Andrade, Richarlison's father.'
He claimed he was also given extra responsibilities such as looking after the player's pets. It is also said the sacking came after Richarlison changed his agent.
In another setback for the striker, he is out injured before Sunday's North London Derby against Arsenal.
A spokesman for Richarlison told the Sun: 'The claims are denied but we will be making no further comment in respect of these proceedings.'
A preliminary hearing is set to take place in Watford next month.
In another controversy for the North London club, Uruguayan midfielder was this week charged by the Football Association.
When appearing on a Uruguayan show in June, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player's jersey and replied, 'Sonny's?' - referencing his team-mate Heung-min Son who captains both Spurs and South Korea.
He then added it could be Son's cousin, too, because 'more or less they are all the same.'
The FA confirmed that they have charged the South American for an 'aggravated breach' of their rules.
A statement from the FA said: 'Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.
'It's alleged that the Tottenham midfielder has breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.
'It's further alleged that this constitutes an 'aggravated breach' which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.'
If found guilty, Bentancur faces a minimum six-match ban. If he admits to the charge he will face a 12-game suspension.
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez will escape punishment by the Football Association for his role in a discriminatory social media video that included derogatory remarks about members of the France team.
MailOnline has contacted Richarlison for comment.
Tottenham star Richarlison is facing legal action from his ex-personal assistant
The PA say they were used as a dogsbody and were unfairly dismissed
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Tottenham star Richarlison is facing legal action from his former personal assistant.
As reported by The Sun, Tottenham star Richarlison facing legal action from his ex-personal assistant Reginaldo Pereira.
Pereira 'feels like he was used as a dogsbody, worked around the clock, and was then unfairly dumped.'
The former personal assistant subsequently found himself unemployed and also split from his wife.
He says he felt physically and emotionally broken following his dismissal.
In addition, Pereira says that he was dismissed without notice in the cinema room at the player's mansion.
Pereira worked with Richarlison as he moved to England with Watford in 2017 and subsequently joined Everton and then Tottenham.
Pereira, 60, is claiming £95,000 for unfair dismissal. He claims that Richarlison didn't register him or grant him holidays and also paid his £500-a-week wages straight into his account.
Pereira said: 'I faced long working hours, excessive demands and verbal abuse — especially from Antonio Marcos de Andrade, Richarlison's father.
'After being dismissed I had to seek medical treatment to deal with the negative impacts of this toxic environment. My wife filed for divorce. I'm emotionally shaken and unemployed.'
A spokesman for Richarlison said: 'The claims are denied but we will be making no further comment in respect of these proceedings.'
A preliminary hearing is due to take place in Watford next month.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is in need of a big victory
Postecoglou has full belief in his team ahead of clash with Arsenal
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Ange Postecoglou bristled at the notion that anyone might be losing faith in his Tottenham revolution. Or that he could do with a statement win against big opponents like Arsenal to restore it.
‘If people have lost faith in what we’re doing, I cannot let that be my guide,’ said Postecoglou. ‘My guide is what I see on a daily basis, the way we play our football, the way the team is growing.
‘I’m as optimistic and as bullish as I’ve ever been. There’s nothing I’ve seen to make me waver in my belief about what we’re doing.’
The new season has started for Spurs with one thumping home win, a draw they ought to have won and a narrow defeat at Newcastle.
Performances have been bright enough, although this small sample of fresh results is disturbingly like an extension to the end of last season, when they beat the poorest teams while struggling to take anything at all from stronger opponents.
In 14 games since an impressive 4-0 win at Aston Villa in March, they have won only five. Last season against each of the Premier League’s bottom four and this season against Everton, who have started like a drain.
On Sunday Arsenal travel across north London. When they last made the trip in April, Mikel Arteta’s side were 3-0 up by half-time, dominating on the counter-attack and dangerous at set-pieces, then resisted a fightback to take three points. Having failed to derail Arteta’s tilt at the title, it left some Spurs fans to celebrate another defeat against Manchester City 16 days later on the grounds that at least the arch enemy would not lift the trophy.
This left Postecoglou feeling distinctly uncomfortable at the time. And victory in this derby might move the rivalry back to a more conventional footing and soothe some of those wounds. It might jolt this season into life but the Spurs boss is demanding more.
‘Is it important to win big games? Absolutely, yes, I want to win big games,’ said Postecoglou. ‘But we won big games early last season. It doesn’t mean it’s going to get you to where you want to get to. There’s got to be a consistency in approach.
‘Teams that win things win all the time. They don’t pick and choose. You can’t pick and choose. Small teams do because that’s where the only true victory lies because they think they can’t win the competition but can get a couple of big scalps.
‘I was with Australia for a long time and that was the mentality. Let’s knock off a big gun because we can’t win a World Cup. I don’t subscribe to that. Winners go, “Right, who’s in front of us? Let’s win”. That’s the way I am and the way I think.
‘I don’t think one win is bigger or more significant than any other. I would hate to think there are players in the dressing room who want to win this game more than any others or prepare differently or try harder in this game than any other.
‘That is not the way forward. We understand the significance of it because if we do win, our supporters will be over the moon. I understand that. If we don’t win, they are going to be devastated.’
Lose it and four points from four games will invite pressure ahead of a tricky Carabao Cup tie at Coventry.
The flying start to last season, when Spurs topped the Premier League after 10 games, would look more like the exception and 10 months of hit-and-miss results since the norm.
Arsenal finished 23 points ahead of Spurs last season. ‘A fair reflection,’ according to Postecoglou. ‘A significant gap we need to bridge. That won’t happen quickly but we need to chip away.
‘We’re a year into it. If we’re four or five years into it and still (23) points behind, then I wouldn’t be here talking about it.’
Which is the reason he won’t compromise his style just because Arsenal are the visitors. The difference between the neighbours is more than the three points up for grabs on Sunday.
‘I guess there can be, but there won’t be,’ replied the Australian when asked if there was any temptation to be more circumspect.
Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven are back after injuries but Yves Bissouma is a doubt and Richarlison is out. Arteta is without midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
‘That’s a hell of a trap to fall into if you think they’re reliant on two players,’ said Postecoglou. ‘They have the quality in their squad. The key for us is the focus on our performance.
‘When we’ve played well — and we certainly have played well in the first three games — and if we’re a little more clearheaded in both boxes, we’re a match for any team.
‘That’s what we’ve got to think about. If we go in there thinking they’re somehow weakened, we’re going to get punished.’
Tottenham return to action after the international break against Arsenal
Yves Bissouma suffered an injury with Mali but two key players could return
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Ange Postecoglou has revealed Yves Bissouma is set to miss Tottenham's North London derby showdown against Arsenal after picking up an injury.
In a mixed update on the fitness of his squad, Postecoglou confirmed midfielder Bissouma had suffered a groin tweak while on international duty with Mali.
But centre back Micky van de Ven and striker Dominic Solanke, the Premier League's most expensive signing of the summer at £65million, are in line to return.
Van de Ven featured against both Leicester and Everton but after sustaining a knee problem in the latter match, he was forced to sit out against Newcastle.
Solanke, meanwhile, damaged his ankle on his debut but has since trained.
On Bissouma, Postecoglou said: 'It's hard to say at the moment, it's a tweak in his groin. The initial reports are it's not serious which means there is a chance for Sunday, which tells me it's nothing significant.
'If he doesn't make Sunday, then I'll assume he'll be right for after that. At the same time, he's just come off a long flight, you never feel great anyway, we'll see how he trains tomorrow and that will give the best indication.'
Van de Ven is 'feeling good', Postecoglou has confirmed, and the defender is expected to start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
'He's trained all the way through the international break, and it was good for him to stay with us to build him back up so he's ready to go,' Postecoglou added.
Ace Solanke is a step closer to making his belated second appearance for the club, which could even come against Arsenal with a late call to be made.
Postecoglou said: '[He's] improved as well and trained the back half of this week. We still have two days to go with those guys, so hopefully, they get through training OK.'
Arsenal have also suffered in the injury department with captain and talisman Martin Odegaard likely to miss several weeks after injuring his ankle while with Norway.
Mail Sport reported Odegaard would undergo further tests to determine the extent of the issue - but he has not yet been officially ruled out of action this weekend.
Declan Rice will also be absent against Spurs, having been shown a red card for his bizarre involvement in a spat with Brighton defender Joel Veltman a fortnight ago.
Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is facing a ban after being charged with misconduct by the Football Association in relation to his comments about the appearance of South Koreans in June.
The Spurs midfielder made the bizarre remark during an interview with Uruguayan TV when asked for captain Son Heung-Min's shirt.
Bentancur responded to the question telling the interviewer that he should get a jersey from Son's cousin because 'they all look the same'.
The 27-year-old has since apologised but has been informed that he has until Thursday 19 September to respond.
Bentancur is cleared to face Arsenal in the North London derby this weekend, whether he is guilty or not .
A statement from the FA read: 'Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.
'It's alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.
'It's further alleged that this constitutes an 'aggravated breach' which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.'
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out revealed that they received a 'significant number' of complaints after the comment was aired on Canal 10.
Bentancur later took to Instagram to apologise amid a backlash towards his comments.
'Sonny brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke,' Bentancur wrote. 'You know I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you brother!'
His apology could be used in mitigation by the FA when deciding any potential punishment.
Edinson Cavani, who was playing for Manchester United at the time, was handed a three-match ban and £100,000 fine in 2020 after using the word 'negrito' in a social media post.
The striker sent the message to a friend via an Instagram story after scoring a brace against Southampton in a 3-2 win for the Red Devils.
If Bentancur is found guilty and is hit with a similar ban, he could miss fixtures against Brentford, United, and Brighton, all in the Premier League.
Arsenal have been banned from wearing their traditional red home kit for this weekend’s North London Derby against Tottenham after the Premier League and PGMOL deemed it as having too much white.
Bizarrely, the Gunners’ red strip has been judged as a potential colour clash with Spurs’ white home kit.
Arsenal tried to come to a compromise, offering the option of instead wearing red shorts and socks, but that was rejected.
As a result, they will be wearing their black away kit for the crunch fixture this Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It’s understood Arsenal were informed of a potential clash ahead of time but it was too late for them to change their kit design by then.
The PGMOL and Premier League’s decision also means Spurs will wear different colours when they visit the Emirates Stadium in January.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are nervously waiting on the ankle assessment of captain Martin Odegaard.
Norway’s Odegaard appeared to twist his left ankle against Austria on Monday night, and immediately required medical attention before being helped off the pitch.
He flew back to London on Tuesday morning and is being assessed by the Arsenal medical staff.