Tottenham vs Arsenal – Premier League: Live score, team news and updates as Mikel Arteta’s side seek north London derby victory that would stretch lead at the top of the table

These two have been the key to Arsenal’s success this campaign.

Martin Odegaard has shown why he is the Arsenal captain and has even been involved in six goals in his last six Premier League away games, scoring and assisting three each.

Meanwhile, if Bukayo Saka gets on te scoresheet, he will become the first English Arsenal player to score in both the home and away fixtures against Spurs in a league fixture since Ian Wright, 30 years ago.

Both players will have a major part to play today.

I was right, no changes from Mikel Arteta.

This side did rather well when they thumped Chelsea 5-0 in midweek, so nobody was expecting any changes.

Can they produce another masterful performance today?

Ange Postecoglou has named his first starting 11 in 15 days.

The Tottenham boss has made three changes from the side that was humbled 4-0 by Newcastle just over two weeks ago.

Ben Davies, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and Dejan Kulusevski all come into the fray.

Richarlison returns to the bench.

Here they are!

Arsenal have arrived at the home of their biggest enemies ready for the big afternoon in front of them.

Team news is just a matter of minutes away, which 11 will Mike Arteta field today.

Surely, he won’t make any changes, will he?

Gary Neville, former Manchester United defender, on Sky Sports:

It’s a must (win for Arsenal). You look at what (Manchester) City are doing, they (Arsenal) put some pressure on them in midweek, and then City go to Brighton and do what they do.

You’ve just got to make sure that City go into that Nottingham Forest game knowing and feeling they have to win. They get let off the hook if Arsenal get beat here today. But, that’s a tough ask.

Tottenham will be wearing a special warm-up shirt today.

The club’s shirt will adorn a sign from Noah’s Ark Hospice, their official charity partner.

A lovely gesture.

More of this, please?

These two sides served us up a cracker back in September, with Tottenham coming from behind twice to deny Arsenal all three points at the Emirates.

It was the North London derby at its very best and I have a sneaky feeling it could be a very similar game today.

Let’s hope it is!

Tottenham fans, I want to hear from all of you!

Obviously, today’s result will either harm or boost the chances of both of these happening, so I guess this question is more relevant for other games.

But anyway, would you rather see your side make the top four, but Arsenal win the league, or you the Gunners finish second and you miss out on the Champions League?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

You can tell it’s a big game when there are already fans in the ground.

The atmosphere is building outside of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and some fans are starting to trickle inside.

The atmosphere is going to be electric today, both in the home and the away end.

I can’t wait!

Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham boss, speaking on Friday:

It’s just about making sure you embrace the challenge and try to tackle it in the way that got us into this position in the first place. From our perspective, we’ve had some inconsistencies and challenges this year, but when we’ve played well, we’ve played a certain way and gone about things in a certain way.

There’s no point now when you get to the most important part of the year to shy away from that or change your approach. You’ve got to double down on it and focus on playing our football. That’s a great measure for us because otherwise, you’ll never know where you’re short or whether you can be successful in doing it our way.

I bet Arsenal fans will start beaming when they read this post.

The Gunners’ last trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was certainly a memorable one as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.

They took the lead within 15 minutes through a calamitous own goal from Hugo Lloris before Martin Odegaard netted a fantastic goal to secure a superb derby day win.

Today Arsenal have the chance to win consecutive league games at Spurs for the first time since 1988. If they play anything like they did in January last year, they will most likely achieve the feat.

This is a very different Spurs side to the one from last year, mind.

The Tottenham players arrived very early.

You know it’s a big game when the players arrive in suits rather than the usual tracksuits.

The players are looking fairly relaxed, however, those smiles will soon be gone when they walk out onto the pitch. They will come back if they score, though.

A big afternoon in store.

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager, speaking on Friday:

More motivation (to win a derby), if anything, because you know what you can give to people, which is a lot of joy and happiness if we manage to win the game. When you have the chance to do that and it’s in your hands, you really want to make the most of it to try and make it happen.

We know about the rivalry, but I think you have to put that aside, you have to live the game with the intensity and passion that it demands. On top of that, we know what we are playing for so I don’t think we need anything special because the game has got everything that you need as a player to go and enjoy it.

When these two sides meet, it’s normally the hosts that end the day with a smile on their faces.

Arsenal have only won two of their last 15 Premier League visits to Tottenham, however, one of those did come in this fixture last season.

The Gunners have also never in their entire history kept back-to-back clean sheets away at their bitter rivals.

You know what that means, we should expect goals.

Today’s match is huge, and even saying that is an understatement.

Both sides have so much on the line. Arsenal are in the midst of a title tussle with champions Manchester City.

The Gunners will be desperate not to suffer the fate of Liverpool, who have fallen at the final few fences, in what was a three-horse race.

Mix all that in with the fact that they face their bitter rivals Tottenham, and I think it would be fair to say this is their biggest match of the season. It certainly feels it anyway.

Spurs have a lot at stake as well. Ange Postecoglou’s side are still embroiled in a battle with Aston Villa for a spot in the four. They might sit seven points behind the Villans, but they do have three games in hand.

Pair that with their burning desire to ruin Arsenal’s title charge, then three points today would be a positive double whammy for them.

Writing all of that now has me fired up, so imagine how the players are feeling…

Did somebody say derby day?

Oh, it’s a big one today, huge in fact, it’s perhaps the biggest north London derby in 20 years. The implications of today’s result will massively affect both sides’ seasons.

Arsenal are still more than in the hunt for their first Premier League title and a win today would put them four points clear of Man City, at least for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, Tottenham would love to be the side that derails their bitter rivals title dreams, just like Everton did to Liverpool in midweek.

I bet the nerves have been jangling all weekend for both sets of supporters, this match means more than any other in their calendar. Now we are just two hours away from kick-off.

I for one cannot wait to see what happens in north London today and I’d put my money on that all of you are feeling the same.

So, with that in mind, let’s get cracking!