Arsenal vs Tottenham preview, team news, tickets and prediction

12/18/2024 06:00 AM

Arsenal and Tottenham will meet for the second time in the Premier League on match day 21 at the Emirates Stadium in London. The Gunners have been superb all through the past three seasons and they are one of the sides challenging for the Premier League titles. As for Spurs, they are neither here nor there, but they will be keen to play in the Champions League at the end of the season.

As of the time of writing, Arsenal are fourth on the Premier League log with 22 points, while the Whites have 19 points from 12 games and they are placed 6th on the log. Mikel Arteta’s side are strong at home and they will be keen to keep that form going against one of the sides they have beaten at home in three of the past four previous meetings.

One thing Arteta’s side have done this present season is their ability to adapt in difficult situations. The team showed character to take all three points in the reverse fixture at Tottenham and were denied by a late goal at Manchester City. They also have wins against the likes of Aston Villa, Southampton, Leicester City, and Wolves in their opening seven games of the campaign. 

A slight blip around October and November saw them drop points against Liverpool and Chelsea via stalemates, while Newcastle beat them at St. James’ Park. In Europe, they stuttered a bit, but have recovered well to mount a challenge in the competition. It was an impressive display at Sporting Lisbon that got them back on track after a defeat to Inter and a draw with Atalanta on the road. The Gunners currently sit comfortably on the log.

As of the time of writing, Tottenham have been poor and this has raised a whole lot of concerns among the fans and followers. The North London club have already suffered five defeats in their opening 12 games of the season. Prior to the start of the campaign, many complained about the lack of marquee signings and that might be the issue even as the season progresses. 

Their summer signings include midfielder Archie Gray who arrived from Championship side Leeds United for €41.25m, and Lucas Bergvall (18) also came in from Sweden for €10.00m. Both players are still teenagers, and while their talent might be huge, people do not think.

In terms of exits, defender Joe Rondon left for Leeds United, Eric Dier joined Bayern Munich on a free transfer, while Ryan Sessegnon, Tanguy Ndombélé, Ivan Perisic, Japhet Tanganga, and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg left for Fulham, Nice, HNK Hajduk Split, Millwall and Marseille respectively.

Spurs were top of the Premier League after ten match days last season, but they could not sustain the momentum as they eventually missed out on a place in the Champions League. This term, they have started poorly and they need some strong results to get back on track. However, Ange Postecoglou and his boys got their biggest win of the Premier League campaign when they beat Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad in November. 

“The lads were outstanding. We’ve obviously had a tough couple of weeks, but we’ve stuck together, not lost belief, and were really determined today to put in a strong performance,” Ange said after the game. 

“We doubled down on our football beliefs. City, their form wasn’t great coming into this, but their four losses were away, they’re a different prospect at home. You could see that in the first 10 minutes in the way they came out. We had to do a bit of everything, defend, work hard, be disciplined and our football had to be at the highest level, and it was. The players delivered in all areas, and credit to them.”

Arsenal v Tottenham's head-to-head record shows that in the 68 meetings they've had since 1995, Arsenal have won 29 times and Tottenham have won 15 times. 24 of those fixtures have ended in a draw. 

Match tickets

This match at The Emiratesin London kicks off on Wednesday 15th January 2025, at 20:00 GMT. 

The 60,704-capacity stadium is the place for this clash between the North London rivals.

GettingArsenal v Tottenham tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. 

Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Mikel Arteta and his team are quite strong at home and the manager has a good number of his stars available. Utility Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey, and Dutch defender Jurrien Timber could feature in this game. Skipper Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka should again retain their spots in the team and Kai Havertz leading the line.

Arsenal XI: David Raya; Jurien Timber, Gabriel, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori; Kai Havertz,  Declan Rice, Thomas Partey; Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka.

Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur, known for their possession-heavy style of football, have been poor in Premier League matches this season. The team for this trip will have to be on their toes from start to finish if they want to walk away with at least a point from the Emirates. All the players sidelined at the moment could be back before this clash in mid-January. 

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Bentancur, Johnson, Kulusevski, Son, Solanke.

Prediction

Arsenal have set high standards for themselves in the past couple of seasons and they know that there is no time for slip-ups. At the Emirates, they are difficult to play against and this Spurs side should be beaten at the end of 90 minutes. It is a big game, so getting your Arsenal tickets early is important.

As for Spurs, they have struggled on the road a lot in the Premier League this season and that might be the issue in this fixture once again. At the time of writing this piece, they have lost three of their six games on the road this season. 

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