Martin Keown believes Arsenal’s away form and defensive record give them the ‘pedigree of champions’ and enough to beat Tottenham in the North London derby.
The Gunners travel to the home of their arch-rivals Spurs on Sunday looking to get back on track following a disappointing and controversial 1-1 draw against Brighton before the international break.
Arsenal have taken seven points from three Premier League games so far and remain unbeaten, while Spurs have picked up just one win and four points.
Last season, Mikel Arteta’s men kept a league-high 18 clean sheets — at least five more than any other team — while they conceded the fewest goals of any Premier League team (29).
Arsenal have started this season in a similar fashion, conceding just a single goal across their opening three matches.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League away games, which includes a 3-2 win against Spurs in April.
Martin Keown makes Arsenal vs Tottenham prediction
It’s for these reasons that Keown is backing Arsenal to pick up another hard-fought win against their closest rivals.
“I think it probably would, but I don’t see it happening,” Keown responded when asked on talkSPORT if he thinks a Spurs win on Sunday would be a shock.
He continued: “I think that Arsenal are still good enough – when you look at their defensive record and the number of clean sheets in recent times.
“If you look at their away record you start to think they have the pedigree of champions.
“I’m going to go with Arsenal but you have to earn everything you get at Spurs now.”