Saka shares his memories of the north London derby | Interview

On Sunday we face Tottenham Hotspur in the 195th North London derby, as we aim to secure the victory needed to continue our quest for the title.

We have to go back to 1988 and the tenure of George Graham for the last time we recorded back-to-back wins at our neighbors, but we will head to the N17 full of confidence after our longest run without conceding. on the road in our championship history, helping us remain undefeated in our last seven domestic trips.

This is in stark contrast to Spurs who have kept just two clean sheets at home all season, but they benefited from 15 days of preparation ahead of this match. We have played four times since their 4-0 defeat to Newcastle United, but Ange Postecoglu will be pulling out all the stops in this match to try to reignite their Champions League return ambitions.

Leaky Spurs lose ground

Postecoglu’s reign started in impressive fashion, as he guided his team to 26 points from the top 30 on offer to finish top of the table at the end of October. However, five games without a win followed and saw them fall out of the top four to begin a six-month battle to regain a foothold in the race for a Champions League place.

A huge 4-0 win over rivals Aston Villa in March kept them in the race, but since then they have suffered a 3-0 defeat to Fulham and the aforementioned drubbing at the hands of the Magpies. Two labored wins over Luton Town and Nottingham Forest mean Spurs have won eight of their last nine home league games, scoring in each of their last 25 games on their own patch.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story, as they haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 12 Premier League home games, their longest run in almost 20 years. In fact, only Burnley and struggling Sheffield United have kept fewer clean sheets at home than Spurs.

What leaders say

Arteta: “We have to look at ourselves and try to play the best way possible to win our matches and I can’t wait to see what happens. I think this league is extremely demanding and there can still be a lot of twists and turns.

“We all know how difficult it is to win games in this league. We had a big one in the last London derby against Chelsea and now we have another one. I’m sure if we go [win the league], we will also have to beat Spurs. – Read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference

Postecoglu: “We understand the importance, especially at home, in these kinds of games against our biggest rival and in the biggest derby of not letting our opponent get the better of us. We understand the consequences, but ultimately it’s always about competing against the teams we want to challenge on a more consistent basis.

“Points have great meaning for both clubs, so what happened before, whether in the immediate past or more distantly, no longer matters. Because you know it’s going to be a difficult match, you have to have a little edge, have an atmosphere. And you just have to make sure you’re ready to match those levels with a performance.

Team News

Jurrien Timber returned to action on Monday night in an under-21 match against Blackburn Rovers and continues to be scrutinized as Arteta hopes to have him back in his matchday squad before the end of the season.

Spurs suffered a setback this week with left-back Destiny Udoge requiring quad surgery and expected to miss three months, while Oliver Skipp was also ruled out of the derby after suffering a knock.

Having missed the last two games, Richarlison has been training this week and will be available for selection, as will Pedro Porro who was forced off the field with a problem at Newcastle. However, Manor Solomon (knee), Fraser Forster (foot) and Ryan Sessegnon (knee) all remain out.

Talking about tactics

Adrien Clarke: Postecoglou has repeatedly insisted that his philosophy is set in stone. They will line up in 4-2-3-1 and from this base they will try to play fast, possession-based Football. Spurs hold on average over 62% of the ball, putting them just behind Manchester City. So we may have to spend some periods maintaining robust form out of possession.

Off the ball, they will squeeze their fullbacks all the way to the halfway line hoping to fill space and disrupt our passing rhythm. When this ploy works, it can have a stifling effect and, statistically, Spurs interrupt the game with a defensive action every 8.8 passes; the best record in the division. If we go past the press, Tottenham’s high defensive line can be exposed and look vulnerable.

The absence of Porro and Udogie may impact the balance, but in advanced areas they have a lot of talent. James Maddison is a top-class No.10 who creates two chances every 90 minutes in open play. Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner have blistering pace on the counters, and Son Heung-Min remains a lethal finisher. His conversion rate this season stands at an impressive 28 percent.

Our job will be to quiet a noisy home crowd by controlling the match on Tottenham territory. After three points, we must provide our attackers with as high a quality service as possible in the advanced areas.

Facts and statistics

Tottenham have won just one of their last six league games against us, with their four defeats in this series as many as in the previous 16.

Spurs have conceded 49 goals in the Premier League this season and could concede more than 50 in consecutive campaigns for the first time since 2015.

Until the end of the 2015/16 season, Arsenal v Tottenham was the most drawn match in Premier League history, with 20 of the 48 meetings ending in a draw (42%). Since then, only four out of 15 matches have ended in a draw (27%).

We have only lost one of our last 11 away London derbies in the league since the start of last season (8 wins, 2 draws), keeping a clean sheet in each of those eight victories.

We have kept a clean sheet in our last six Premier League away matches, with only two teams out of seven (Chelsea and Manchester United, both in 2008/09). However, we never kept a clean sheet in back-to-back league visits against Spurs.

Guglielmo Vicario could become only the second goalkeeper to concede more than 50 goals in his first Premier League season with Spurs, after Neil Sullivan in 2000/01 (51).

In the history of the Premier League, no team has lost more points by winning against a single opponent than Tottenham have against us (45).

Son Heung-Min has 24 goals in his last 26 league matches. He has scored (6) or assisted (2) eight of Tottenham’s last 12 goals against us.

Brennan Johnson has contributed to nine goals in his last 15 Premier League games (4 goals, 5 assists), including five from the bench.

Bukayo Saka could become the first Arsenal player to score home and away against Spurs in a single campaign since Alexandre Lacazette in 2019/20 and the first Englishman to do so since Ian Wright in 1993/94.

Martin Odegaard has been involved in six goals in his last six Premier League away games, scoring three and providing three assists.

Match officials

For the fifth time this campaign, Michael Oliver is in charge of one of our matches, the previous four all taking place at the Emirates Stadium. He presided over wins over Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Burnley before the 2-0 defeat to West Ham United in December when Tomas Soucek controversially scored before the Hammers were also awarded a late penalty.

Oliver has overseen three Tottenham matches this season, ending in a win, a draw and a defeat. His last visit to their corner of north London saw Chelsea win 4-1 in November, when he sent off Cristian Romero and Udogie – indeed no official has sacked more Premier League players this season.

Arbitrator: Michel Olivier
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook
Fourth official: Andy Madley
VAR: Jared Gillett
VAR Assistant: Darren Cann

Previous visits to Spurs

Last season we achieved a first league victory at Tottenham since 2014. An own goal from Hugo Lloris and a fine goal from Martin Odegaard saw us secure a 2-0 victory in January 2023. This means that Arteta could become the first Arsenal manager to win consecutively away from home. league matches at Tottenham since George Graham in the late 1980s.

This victory helped kill the ghosts of our previous meetings at Spurs’ new home, including the painful 3-0 defeat in May 2022, while the home side also enjoyed 2-0 and 2-1 successes in other matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. .

However, just over 20 years after we won the league at White Hart Lane, we’re looking forward to another incredible afternoon as we try to secure a first league title since the days of Invincible.

Take a look at this match, plus five other memorable away wins at Spurs’ expense.

Live

Tune in to Arsenal.com and the official app (download now) an hour before kick-off as Nick Bright and Adrian Clarke help ease your pre-match nerves with Breakdown Live.

They will discover the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents to try to determine who will emerge victorious in the match, reflect on our incredible 5-0 victory against Chelsea and discuss the latest news regarding our women’s and academy teams.

Then, at kick-off, Dan Roebuck and Josh James will be on live commentary to keep you up to date with everything that’s happening as we aim to clinch bragging rights on derby day.

You can also discover which broadcasters are showing the action wherever you are in the world