Overview
The North London derby is always one of the most notable matches in the Premier League, but it is rare for the confrontation between Tottenham and Arsenal to be as meaningful as this encounter.
Tottenham is currently only 5 points ahead of the relegation group after a streak of 8 winless matches (4 draws, 4 losses) - their worst record in the same season since the period of 9 consecutive winless matches from August to November 2007. Spurs are also the only team in the Premier League that has not had a win in 2026, marking their worst start in a calendar year since 1994, when the team did not win the first 10 matches of the year.
Igor Tudor will face a huge challenge when taking over the hot seat from Thomas Frank on a contract lasting until the end of the season. However, Spurs are not the only team in North London that is "thirsty" for points.
On February 8th, when Manchester City was led 0-1 by Liverpool at Anfield, Arsenal was once facing a strong breakthrough opportunity in the championship race. If that score is maintained, the "Gunners" will be 9 points ahead of their opponents in the context that the two teams play the same number of matches.
But Man City made a spectacular comeback in the last 10 minutes, then continued their sublimation with a victory over Fulham in round 26. Conversely, Arsenal lost the advantage in 2 consecutive draws against Brentford and Wolves. Therefore, their gap may only be 2 points when entering the derby if Man City defeats Newcastle.
The 2-2 draw against Wolves in the middle of last week was particularly difficult for Mikel Arteta to swallow. After the goals of Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapie, Arsenal is statistically 98.1% likely to win all 3 points, but Hugo Bueno's beautiful curling shot and Tom Edozie's late equalizer in injury time caused them to leave Molineux with only 1 point in shame.
Arsenal's anxiety is even more justified when they continuously lose points from the lead in 2026. Only Crystal Palace and West Ham (both with 8 points) drop more points from the winning position compared to Arsenal (7). Notably, Arsenal has failed to win in 3/5 recent matches in the league despite taking the lead at times (2 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss). This is also the first time in Premier League history that the top team has failed to win after leading by 2 goals against the bottom team.
However, Arsenal partly revived the spirit of fans when announcing a contract extension with Saka, in the context that this star had just ended a 15-match goalless streak.
Arsenal also has a foothold from their first leg memories this season. The 4-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium, where Eberechi Eze - a player who almost joined Tottenham in August last year - scored a hat-trick. Eze has scored 6 goals in his last 4 Premier League appearances against Spurs, including 3 goals in two away games at Tottenham Hotspur.
On Tottenham's side, they expect the coach change effect to create an immediate boost. Tudor has a habit of an impressive start. He won his debut match in all of his last five terms, since his second time leading Hajduk Split in February 2020, followed by Hellas Verona, Marseille, Lazio and Juventus.
However, a rare case in the past where a Spurs coach debuted against Arsenal ended in defeat. That was the 1-2 defeat in the FA Cup semi-finals under Glenn Hoddle (April 2001).
Head-to-head record
Arsenal is clearly dominant in recent encounters with Tottenham in the Premier League. The Gunners have won 6/7 recent matches (1 draw), including a 4-game winning streak. The last time Arsenal beat Tottenham in 5 consecutive matches in the league took place in the period from January 1987 to January 1989.
If only considering the matches at Tottenham's stadium, Spurs' situation is not much better. They have lost their last 3 home matches against Arsenal in the Premier League - equal to the number of defeats in 23 previous matches against Arsenal (10 wins, 10 draws). The last time Tottenham lost 4 consecutive home matches against a neighboring opponent was in the period 1952-1955.
Score prediction: Tottenham 3-2 Arsenal
The match between Tottenham and Arsenal takes place at 11:30 PM on February 22nd (Vietnam time).
