Mikel Arteta praises Declan Rice ahead of north London derby Arsenal head into the north London derby with great confidence from the start of the season and return to the UEFA Champions League.
The 4-0 victory against PSV will certainly give the Gunners great confidence and momentum. There is also the news of captain Martin Odegaard’s new contract.
Although it has been agreed for some time, the timing of the announcement is sure to bring plenty of applause for the Norwegian on Sunday, just in time for Tottenham’s arrival – smart. Mikel Arteta needs to make sure his training is fit for the game.
His selections this season have come under some scrutiny, particularly the choice of goalkeeper this week since David Raya started against Everton and PSV, as well as Kai Havertz’s persistence in most games despite Their problems. However, Raya should be in net for the derby.
If the coach has made his decision for a new number one, it is obviously because he believes more that the Spaniard is the man who will represent his team to the title, and that is crucial in matches like this -this. In defense, the situation remains stable after conceding two consecutive goals.
Oleksandr Zinchenko got the break he needed when he was substituted early against PSV, while Ben White will be tasked with keeping Son Heung-min or Manor Solomon quiet, with William Saliba and Gabriel Magal haes a solid duo as always.
In midfield and there is another choice here. Given the obvious choices of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, do we go with Fabio Vieira or Kai Havertz?
In the derby, I think you have to choose the player who is the most fit and in this case it is certainly Fabio Vieira.
Another good performance against Everton and he looked good when he replaced Bukayo Saka midweek.
Havertz will have his time and if Arsenal need to see a result on Sunday he will be a major asset coming off the bench.
But in this case Vieira is preferred.
In a dream scenario, which is what is being aimed for, Gabriel Martinelli would actually recover from the hamstring injury sustained at Good is on Park.
The Brazilian has not been ruled out by Arteta, but he was not seen in training on Friday and in his place the obvious choice would be Leandro Trossard, who has scored two goals in two games.
Gabriel Jesus is expected to make his first Premier League start after scoring again on his return from a knee injury; he scored in this match last year and will be looking for another.
Bukayo Saka returned to his goal-scoring form against PSV and loves a derby goal too, so fingers crossed for another big score in the North London derby for the Gunners.
Arsenal Dream XI vs Tottenham: Raya; Wit, Lintasa, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice, Vieira, Odegaard, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
