Only one Tottenham player starts in NLD XI – even with Rice and Odegaard out
Arsenal may be without arguably their first-choice midfield for Sunday’s north London derby – but their squad is far superior to Tottenham’s.
That is the view of Gunners legend Emmanuel Petit, who has stated Son Heung-min is the only Spurs star that definitely gets into his combined north London derby XI.
Mikel Arteta goes into the derby without a number of key players, with club-record signing Declan Rice suspended following his controversial red card against Brighton.
Prior to the 1-1 draw before the international break, they were also rocked by the news that £32million summer signing Mikel Merino suffered a training ground injury, ruling him out of action until at least mid-October.
Arsenal were then dealt a further blow earlier this week after Martin Odegaard sustained an ankle injury on international duty with Norway. It remains to be seen when he will be back but the Norway physio suggested Odegaard will be sidelined for three weeks.
Those three players were expected to be Arsenal’s preferred midfield three under Arteta, meaning the Spaniard will have to improvise for Sunday’s clash.
This could see Jorginho, who hasn’t played a minute this season, be given a start, while star striker Kai Havertz could be forced to drop back into a No.8 role.
Arsenal‘s midfield woe – coupled with the possible absence of versatile defender Riccardo Calafiori – has left fans feeling that points could be dropped at Spurs.
But speaking on talkSPORT Drive, Petit, who famously snubbed a move to Spurs in favour of Arsenal in 1997 – backed his former employers to make it three wins on the bounce at Tottenham.
He then asked co-hosts Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent how many of Spurs‘ players would get into a combined XI between the two teams.
Petit instantly rebuffed Goldstein’s suggestion that Micky van de Ven could get in front of Gunners centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes in the heart of defence.
He simply stated: “No way.”
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Goldstein returned by stating Spurs skipper Son would get in his team over Arsenal’s left winger Gabriel Martinelli.
That was backed up by ex-Tottenham striker and die-hard Arsenal fan Bent, with Petit accepting their answer.
“That’s the only one”, Bent stated, with Petit admitting: “Probably, yeah.”
Petit then insisted: “Even without Odegaard and Declan Rice, I stick with the Arsenal players.”
Ex-Leicester playmaker James Maddison was then highlighted by Goldstein to feature in the middle of the pitch due to Arsenal’s absentees.
It was a player that Petit conceded could get into Arsenal’s current makeshift team, as he said: “Maybe.
“So maybe two players maximum, even when Odegaard and Declan Rice aren’t there. You have your answer [who will win north London derby].”
And after determining Arsenal still boast a better squad over Spurs despite their setbacks, Petit believes the Gunners will be leaving with all three points.
He remarked: “I was worried, so I was predicting a draw, but now I’ve changed my mind.
“I read the newspapers as well, apparently [Yves] Bissouma is injured, they are not sure about [Dominic] Solanke and the central defender [Van de Ven].
“But even with those guys, I know they cannot afford to lose two games in a row, they lost to Newcastle before the international break.
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“I know they lost last season at home against Arsenal, so for many reasons, they have to produce the perfect game for their fans.”
He continued: “But I see this Arsenal team with Arteta, with the environment, the confidence, the way they work and have been dealing with things the last two to three years and the way they improve.
“I remember two years ago [May 2022] when they were thrashed [3-0] at Tottenham, they lost the [Champions League spot].
“But last season it changed completely, I was worried about that, mentally and physically they were up for it.
“And I’m pretty sure that it will be the same on Sunday.
“It will be a tough game, I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of goals, I don’t see a close game, I will say 2-1 or 3-1 to Arsenal.”
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