No-one knows more about north London derbies than Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman has over 20 years experience of managing Arsenal against Tottenham and more often than not he has been used to coming out on top.
Spurs finished above Arsenal for the first time in Wenger's reign last season and talk of a power shift has accelerated over the past 12 months with Harry Kane, a former Gunners academy prospect, shooting Mauricio Pochettino's side to the Champions League.
Arsenal 7/5 to beat Spurs
Wenger remains convinced that his side are still the main team in north London and has urged his players to prove it by winning against their bitter arch-rivals on Saturday afternoon.
“First of all there’s always pride involved, the desire to beat your opponent like all the neighbours in the world have,” Wenger told Arsenal's official website.
“It’s always a fierce derby. As well keeping your nerve, you must have full commitment while being lucid and calm enough to focus on the game.
“It’s one of the fixtures that is very important for us and that we want to win, as well because in the table we have to make some ground up on the top teams.”
ARSENAL INJURIES
Wenger spoke about Santi Cazorla in his pre-match press conference and revealed that the Spaniard's Achilles injury is the worst he has seen during his time as a football manager.
Cazorla, who is expected to make his return in January, recently revealed that he was told by a doctor he would be lucky to walk again after almost losing his foot due to an infection.
The former Malaga midfielder lost eight centimetres of his Achilles tendon and has undergone eight surgeries since his injury issues began in 2013.
"It is the worst injury I have known," Wenger said. "It started with a little pain and got worse and worse.
"I know how much Santi loves to play and to be out there every day. I feel really sorry for what happened to him because it's unbelievable."
Danny Welbeck and Shkodran Mustafi face late fitness tests ahead of Saturday's match but Olivier Giroud has been ruled out of the game due to a knee injury sustained on international duty with France.
ARSENAL SUSPENSIONS
Arsenal have no players suspended for this game.
ARSENAL POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Wenger is likely to start Alexis, Ozil and Lacazette in attack together after previously leaving the Frenchman on the bench for the defeat at Manchester City
The defence is likely to change the same with Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny starting at centre back and Shkodran Mustafi expected to make his long-awaited return from injury.
Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac will start in the wing-back roles and Granit Xhaka looks set to partner Aaron Ramsey in midfield, although Wenger could opt to play Francis Coquelin or Mohamed Elneny in the centre to play a defensive midfield role.
SPURS TEAM NEWS
Spurs are hopeful that Harry Kane, Harry Winks, and Dele Alli will all be fit to face Arsenal on Saturday after the trio pulled out of the England squad for friendlies against Brazil.
France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been sidelined since the 3-1 victory over Real Madrid almost a month ago but he could also be in contention to start against the Gunners.
Belgium defender Toby Alderweireld remains unlikely to be fit in time to play for Pochettino's men following a hamstring strain.
Third-placed Tottenham are four points ahead of Arsenal in the league, with no side winning more domestic away games in 2017.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
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Arsenal haven’t won any of their last six Premier League meetings with Spurs (D4 L2) – their longest ever winless run against their rivals in league competition.
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Tottenham have won only two of their last 32 away league visits to face Arsenal (W2 D13 L17), winning 3-1 at Highbury in May 1993 and 3-2 at the Emirates in November 2010.
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Meetings between these sides in the Premier League have seen both teams score on 34 occasions – more than any other fixture in the competition.
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In the last seven Premier League meetings between these sides at the Emirates, the side scoring first has only gone on to win once – with Arsenal securing a 1-0 win in September 2013 thanks to Olivier Giroud’s goal.
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The Gunners have won their last 10 Premier League games at the Emirates, their longest ever such winning run at the stadium.
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Harry Kane has scored in all five of his Premier League north London derbies, netting six goals in total. Only Emmanuel Adebayor (8) and Robert Pires (7) have scored more goals in this fixture in the Premier League.
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Mauricio Pochettino has yet to lose a Premier League north London derby (W2 D4 L0), though all three of his visits to the Emirates with Tottenham have ended level.
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The match is being televised on Sky Sports in the UK and kicks off at 12:30 GMT.
