(Football news) Both capital giants have 13 points from their first five games of the new season, but Mikel Arteta’s men are also coming off a Champions League thrashing of PSV Eindhoven.
For the past several years, Arsenal fans have been forced to watch Tottenham play to the Champions League theme on Tuesday and Wednesday nights while they were vying for glory in the Europa League, but this time it was the Gunners’ turn to prove that they deserve a seat at the continent’s top table.
On a damp North London evening, a PSV side unbeaten in 26 matches in all competitions tried their best to show off their attacking firepower, but Arsenal poured on Peter Bosz’s parade courtesy to a flurry of goals from four typical suspects in Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, and Leandro Trossard.
Facing a side as open as PSV may have been a relief for Arteta’s men, who had previously struggled to break down a backs-to-the-wall Everton team before a moment of magic from the silky Trossard, who is unsurprisingly proving a more than capable deputy for the injured Gabriel Martinelli.
A four-goal home tie with Fulham remains the only blemish on the Gunners’ 2023-24 record, and they sit fourth in the rankings thanks to a good collection of 13 points from 15 available in the top flight, albeit below Liverpool and prospective rivals Spurs due to goal difference.
In fact, Arsenal are the only team in the top seven to have yet to reach double figures in goals this season, as Arteta takes a slightly more conservative approach to his side’s attacking play, but even the most optimistic Tottenham fans will not be holding out hope of keeping the Gunners on nine top-flight goals this weekend.
The script was written for Richarlison to star in Tottenham’s most recent match against Sheffield United, which came after the previously underperforming striker admitted to seeking psychological help for off-field issues, having struggled to keep his emotions in check while wearing a Brazil shirt during the international break.
Tottenham had fallen behind in North London to Gustavo Hamer’s strike and had no answer to Wes Foderingham’s heroics – or indeed his time-wasting tactics – before Richarlison’s introduction off the bench, but the Blades number one was left red-faced right at the death, as Richarlison headed home the equaliser before teeing up Dejan Kulusevski to fire home a sensational late winner in the 10th minute of added time.
Spurs have not lost in the Premier League since Ange Postecoglou took over, breaking their own record for the latest winning comeback in Premier League history, which was previously held by Steven Bergwijn’s inspired 3-2 victory at Leicester City. Spurs have only performed worse than a perfect Manchester City this season.
Spurs have now scored at least twice in all of their Premier League games under Postecoglou, and they have not sat on 13 points after five games since the 1965-66 season, but few will need reminding of Antonio Conte’s acrimonious departure several months after he also led Spurs to their best start to a season last year.
The 208th competitive North London derby since Arsenal and Tottenham first met in 1896 – when the Gunners were a South-East London club – and Arteta’s men have won four of the last five meetings with their bitter rivals, who have gone an unlucky 13 years without winning a top-flight game on Emirates soil.
Arsenal Form in Premier League
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Tottenham Hotspurs in Premier League
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Also read: Manchester City will play Nottingham Forest in the Premier League
