Early team news has come out of Tottenham Hotspur, as manager Ange Postecoglou prepares his side for their all-important North London Derby clash against Arsenal on Sunday.
Tottenham vs Arsenal – match preview and injury updates
Both sides come into the contest on a similar run of form, with Spurs winning one, drawing one and losing one of their opening three Premier League matches so far this season.
An opening weekend 1-1 draw away to Leicester City was followed by a dominant 4-0 victory against Everton in north London, but Newcastle United then inflicted Spurs’ first defeat of the new campaign with a 2-1 win over Postecoglou’s men at St. James’ Park.
There were positives and negatives to take from their trio of top-flight clashes, but now one of Tottenham’s toughest tests of the season is looming tomorrow afternoon. By contrast, Arsenal remain undefeated, though Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton exposed the chinks in their armour two weeks ago.
Tottenham Hotspur’s summer signings | Signed from |
|---|---|
Timo Werner | RB Leipzig (loan) |
Dominic Solanke | Bournemouth |
Archie Gray | Leeds |
Wilson Odobert | Burnley |
Lucas Bergvall | Djurgarden |
Min-hyeok Yang | Gangwon FC |
The Seagulls ended Mikel Arteta’s 100 per cent start to 2024/2025 by holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on August 31, with Joao Pedro’s second-half strike cancelling out Kai Havertz’s expertly-taken chipped finish over Bart Verbruggen.
In terms of injury news, Arsenal will be without Mikel Merino for weeks after the summer signing suffered a shoulder injury in training at London Colney, while star man Declan Rice is also set to miss the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium trip through suspension.
Arteta did share concerns for Postecoglou on Friday, though, with Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Riccardo Calafiori all contending to be fit for Spurs.
Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison all missed Tottenham’s last game through injury, but Postecoglou has since confirmed that van de Ven is ready for selection against Arsenal.
Yves Bissouma is an injury doubt for Tottenham, following his knock on international duty, which forced him off during Mali’s 1-0 win over African minnows Eswatini in mid-week.
Postecoglou says that Solanke will be asssessed in training today, before the Australian makes a decision on his involvement against Arsenal, with there being only two fully confirmed absentees.
Richarlison and Will Lankshear out injured for Tottenham
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, the Lilywhites head coach announced that both Richarlison and Will Lankshear are out injured for Tottenham, and will miss the derby tomorrow as a result.
The Spurs duo are currently in rehab following their injury problems, so Postecoglou won’t be able to call upon his £60 million Brazil striker against Arsenal.
Lankshear’s hamstring injury has kept him sidelined for the last few weeks, which will be frustrating for the young forward, who is looking to break into Postecoglou’s first-team after showing a lot of promise at academy level.
“Do you know what I’ve noticed, I’ve been really impressed with how he just finishes his chances,” said pundit John Wenham to Football Insider on Lankshear.
“There are no mistakes, He doesn’t have any caveats so his game so far but he is only 17 and I think he is a complete finisher at the moment. But, if in time we can see him improve his passing levels then maybe we can look at him as a Harry Kane-lite or something like that.”
