Arsenal XI vs Tottenham as David Raya starts again and Kai Havertz keeps his place in the lineup- Mikel Arteta unleashes Arsenal’s “exquisite” 5 ft 9’ gem who will terrorize Tottenham’s Romero- key player on bench for second half

Arsenal XI vs Tottenham as David Raya starts again and Kai Havertz keeps his place in the lineup- Mikel Arteta unleashes Arsenal’s “exquisite” 5 ft 9’ gem who will terrorize Tottenham’s Romero- key player on bench for second half

t’s been a good week for Arsenal. The Gunners returned to the Champions League in style with a 4-0 win over PSV on Wednesday. Martin Odegaard then confirmed that he will be staying in north London until 2028 on Friday. And now, things could be about to get even better.

There’s nothing like a North London Derby victory to put the cherry on top of a perfect few days and Mikel Arteta has admitted spirits are high. “Winning always helps and maintains the spirit in the right place and this game does not need any motivation,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “It is the most special game of the season, a derby, a special moment for all of us and we need to focus on that.”

Aside from the obvious motivation of a derby though, the brilliance of Manchester City means that Arsenal will be all too aware that they can’t risk dropping any points – even at this early stage of the season. Arteta knows he has to get his team spot on and here football.london takes a look at how they could line up.

Goalkeeper – David Raya

Mikel Arteta has admitted that it won’t be comfortable dropping Aaron Ramsdale yet again. Having done so for the past two games though the Arsenal has already indicated that he’ll do so again at the weekend. Expect David Raya to keep his place in the starting XI

Right back – Ben White

Ben White carried his fantastic Premier League form into the Champions League on Wednesday night. With Thomas Partey still out injured, expect him to start again at right-back

Centre back – William Saliba

The only player other than White to play every minute so far this season is William Saliba. You can safely expect him to keep his spot against Spurs this weekend

Centre back – Gabriel

The Brazilian has been largely superb since his return to the starting XI just prior to the international break. He’s highly likely to keep that spot for this clash with Spurs

Left back – Oleksandr Zinchenko

It was maybe a surprise to see the Ukrainian start in midweek given his recent fitness issues. But after he was taken off relatively early in the second half, expect him to continue in the line up. He may only last about an hour though

Defensive midfield – Declan Rice

The England midfielder is already a hero in the eyes of Arsenal fans after his late goal against Manchester United. If he repeats that against Spurs then he will surely be elevated to God status!

Central midfield – Martin Odegaard

Fresh from extending his stay in north London until 2028, Odegaard will surely be determined to make sure it is red this Sunday. He scored last time the two sides met and will want to repeat that this time around

Central midfield – Kai Havertz

Fabio Vieira was absolutely sublime against Everton last week, but it was Kai Havertz who came back in for the midweek clash with PSV. It’s not easy to guess who will play between the pair against Spurs on Sunday, but the conventional wisdom will probably suggest that the German will get the nod this time around

Right wing – Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka proved that he belongs in the Champions League with a superb display against PSV on Wednesday. On another big stage on Sunday, expect him to be a difference maker

Centre-forward – Gabriel Jesus

Eddie Nketiah has done a fantastic job leading the line in Gabriel Jesus’ absence, but in the Brazilian’s first start of the season Arsenal just looked on another level. Jesus has scored in his only North London Derby appearance so far, and will be hopeful of continuing that this time around