Sunday afternoon sees the return of the North London Derby as Arsenal visit Spurs for the first time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, albeit behind closed doors. Even though there will be no fans in the stadium come Sunday we still believe it will be a North London thriller.
With over 300 We Love Sport pubs & bars broadcasting the North London Derby there really is no better place to watch than down the pub. Find out where you can watch here.
Last time these two sides met was back in September at The Emirates Stadium where Spurs threw away a two goal lead in what was a thriller of a game. Both sides were hoping for this game to jump start their stuttering season but in the end a point did very little for both sides.
Since that sunny September afternoon both sides have endured absolutely tragic campaigns which have brought similar issues of player fall outs, management sackings & being knocked out of cup competitions in quite spectacular fashion.
Arsenal's only really noticeable results of the season have been their 2-0 victories over Manchester United at home and most recently Wolves away. Apart from that they have failed to beat any of the sides above them even handing out 6 points to relegation battling Brighton & Hove Albion. However, recent results have picked up and remarkably European qualification could be on the cards still.
Meanwhile, Spurs have a far better record against the top sides but have sacked their manager who propelled them from mid table obscurity to European runners up and replaced him with the self proclaimed 'Special One'. Whether he is still the 'Special One' is another article in itself but since Jose's appointment Spurs' have produced very indifferent form but admittedly they have been without a number of key players.
On the plus side having Jose at the helm means the juicy mind games have already begun. With the 3 time Premier League winner stating that Arsenal should set their ambitions higher than to just to be the champions of North London. This was in response to the Arsenal Twitter account mocking Spurs' recent defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Shots fired.
Realistically having the bragging rights of North London will be only real accolade of note for either of these sides this season unless of course Arsenal go on to win the FA Cup. Unlikely, but of course possible.
Arguably North London is in fact red with the last victory coming in December 2018 with Arsenal comfortably beating Spurs 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal do however go into the North London Derby with a slight advantage as they have 2 extra days rest with Spurs visiting Bournemouth on Thursday evening.
It has been announced that Michael Oliver will referee Sundays derby. Oliver has recently come under heavy criticism from of course you guessed it... Jose Mourinho. This was due to Oliver recently disallowing a Spurs goal against Sheffield United and apparently "making very bad decisions" against Watford back in January.
Arsenal will still be without injured pair Leno & Martinellii, suspended Nketiah and of course the somewhat invisible Mesut Ozil. Meanwhile, for Spurs, Eric Dier is suspended & Dele Alli faces a race to be fit for Sunday.
The North London Derby rarely disappoints us and regardless of the result on Sunday both teams will know they have a huge summer ahead of them to prevent falling behind the likes of Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd & Chelsea. However, if all else fails and the match is a major disappointment there is always Arsenal Fan TV to look forward to.
We have over 300 We Love Sport pubs & bars showing the North London Derby. Find out how you can watch here.
