- Arsenal host Tottenham in north London derby at the Emirates
- Gunners are without a win in last four meetings in all competitions
- Mustafi returns from injury, Lacazette starts
- Dele Alli and Harry Kane start after injury concerns over break
Arsenal host Tottenham at the Emirates for the north London derby on Saturday, with both teams desperate to secure all three points.
For Tottenham, it’s a chance to close the gap on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, temporarily at least, while Arsenal will want to move back into the top four and wipe out the deficit between themselves and their rivals.
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Recent history favours the visitors who are unbeaten in the last four meetings between the two sides in all competitions, while Arsenal are without a win in the last six league encounters.
In turn, Arsene Wenger will want to end that barren run especially with growing talk amongst the media and supporters of a power shift in north London, while for their own aspirations, they can’t afford to fall further behind their rivals for a top four finish.
Arsenal go with the popular attacking trident of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette for this one, with the summer signing starting on the bench last time out against Man City, much to the frustration of bewildered supporters.
Meanwhile, there is a huge boost in defence with the return of Shkodran Mustafi from injury after the German international was ruled out of action last month, and he’ll be a welcome presence in the heart of the backline to offer more solidity alongside Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal.
For Spurs, they also have great news on the injury front as Dele Alli makes the line-up after being an injury doubt over the international break and he’s joined by Harry Kane who’s also had his concerns.
It promises to be a thriller between these two bitter rivals, and there’s plenty of quality on show…
Arsenal team to play Tottenham: Cech, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Xhaka, Ramsey, Kolasinac, Sanchez, Ozil, Lacazette.
— Sky Sports PL ? (@SkySportsPL) November 18, 2017
Tottenham team to play Arsenal: Lloris, Vertonghen, Dier, Sanchez, Trippier, Dembele, Sissoko, Davies, Eriksen, Alli, Kane.
— Sky Sports PL ? (@SkySportsPL) November 18, 2017