Overview
Arsenal will retain control of the Premier League title race as they enter the final international break of 2025. However, coach Mikel Arteta has reason to worry ahead of the North London derby against Tottenham.
The "Gunners" just dropped 2 points in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Sunderland before the season was suspended. Arteta's side went through an incredible 812 minutes of not conceding a goal in all competitions, before the "Black Mo" ended that record at the Light Stadium.
Arsenal - who have suffered many losses in their squad - continue to receive bad news when key centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes practice to leave the field in Brazil's friendly match at the Emirates due to a thigh injury.
He is expected to be out for at least a month, meaning he will miss a series of important matches against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Chelsea in the Premier League and the upcoming derby with Spurs.
Arsenal are also concerned about the possibility of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Riccardo Calafiori, while Kai Havertz has yet to return to play. Gabriel Jesus has returned to training but will have a hard time recovering for the match against Tottenham.
Gabriel's long-term absence could have a big impact on Arsenal in both defence and attack. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Gunners have won 67.6% of their Premier League games as a starter (75/111), compared to just 50% without him (7/14).
Moreover, Gabriel is the only defender to have scored more than 10 goals in the Premier League during this period (11 goals, with 9 headed goals), becoming an irreplaceable factor in Arsenal's set-pieces.
Excluding penalties, Arsenal are leading the Premier League this season in both dead 10 goals and dead 50% goals. This is also a strength that can be severely affected, especially when Spurs are the team that conceded the least goals from set pieces.
On the attack front, the absence of traditional strikers could force Arsenal to use Mikel Merino in the number 9 role. Since the start of the 2024-2025 season, only Leandro Trossard and Martinelli (each with 9 goals) have scored more goals than Merino 8.8 at the Emirates.
The Spaniard created many important moments when coming on as a substitute in the spearhead role. And Arteta may need to shine like that again this weekend.
Meanwhile, coach Thomas Frank had a not-so-smooth start in London. The dramatic 2-2 draw with Manchester United before the international break extended their 5-match winless streak at home in the Premier League. However, the story is completely different when playing away from home - Spurs are the only team still unbeaten away this season.
They have won the most points (13), scored the most (6) and conceded the fewest (3) goals in away matches.
Notably, this will be the first North London derby in which Tottenham have not had Harry Kane or Son Heung-min since September 2014, when the two teams drew 1-1 at the Emirates. Kane (14 goals) and Sonny (8 goals) have contributed 27% of Spurs' total goals against Arsenal in the Premier League (22/82).
Head-to-head record
Arsenal have won five of their last six Premier League games against Tottenham (one draw), including their last three in a row. This is their longest winning streak against Spurs since a 5-match streak that lasted from January 1987 to January 1989 .
In fact, Tottenham have lost 7 of their last 9 Premier League games against Arsenal (won 1, drew 1), equal to their number of losses in the previous 25 North London derbies (won 9, drew 9).
The situation got worse every time Spurs visited. They have won just one of their last 32 trips to Arsenal in the Premier League, drawing 12 and losing 19. That only win came in November 2010, with a score of 3-2.
Arsenal have also maintained an extremely stable scoring record, having scored in all 26 of their most recent home matches against Tottenham in the Premier League, and scored at least 2 goals in the last 8 matches.
Score prediction: Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham
The match between Arsenal and Tottenham takes place at 11:30 p.m. on November 23 (Vietnam time).
