Everything you need to know about the North London derby in 2016

Football derbies tend to be pretty intense and thrilling contests, and the north London clash between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is one of the fiercest in English football. It has become more of a contest over recent years, as well, as Spurs have developed into a team well worthy of challenging the more successful Gunners. They’ve met twice this season already, once in the League Cup where Arsenal took the spoils, and once in the league where the points were shared. Before you pick up your tickets to White Hart Lane for their next league encounter in March, here’s everything you need to know about the teams before the next instalment of this almighty derby.

How the table looks

After 16 games, Arsenal are in second place with 33 points and Tottenham are in fifth with 26. Spurs have lost fewer games than the Gunners but manager Arsene Wenger’s side have fought to win four more. Still, it is close, and the season so far has been highly unpredictable. It seems that any team can beat any team at the moment, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that gap shrinking rather than growing in the run up to the next encounter between the two teams. With the heavy Christmas fixture list coming up, Wenger will be desperately hoping not to add to his long list of injured players. Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping for the same, although he hasn’t had as much bad fortune with injuries as Wenger, he will be nervous about Harry Kane’s fitness without a recognised striker as back-up. It is expected that Spurs will go in for another forward in the January transfer window, but until then Kane is the spearhead of the attack.

Top Players

There is world-class talent brimming in both teams. Spurs have a lot of unfinished, developing youth who look to be destined for big things in the future, along with some household names like Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen. It’s fair to say that Arsenal have the more recognised top-quality players, with superstars in abundance. Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil alone are enough to attract people to buy tickets to the Emirates, and their support cast of the likes of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud is pretty impressive. So far the key man for Arsenal this season has been Ozil. The German playmaker has finally shown the supporters why the club paid a record fee of £42.5million for him. After a tough first couple of seasons for the former Real Madrid man, he has hit his stride just when it has mattered and racked up two goals and 13 assists in 16 games. If he can stay clear of injury, Ozil is well on track to winning PFA Player of the Year, and could be pivotal in an Arsenal title challenge.

Best defence

Both teams have got excellent defensive records in the league this season, with Arsenal shipping 13 goals and Tottenham 14. Part of Spurs’ success at keeping teams out can definitely be attributed to one of their summer signings, Toby Alderweireld. The defender has bolstered up the back line and can also chip in at the other end. He has already bagged two goals in 16 appearances for the club this season. Once again Arsenal have been plagued with injuries that have seen key players in key positions side-lined. The defensive midfield pairing of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla suffered knee injuries around the same time, much to the dismay of Gunners fans. But they can take some solace in the fact that Aaron Ramsey is relishing his opportunity to play in a more central role. Petr Cech has arguably been one of Arsenal’s greatest signings in the past few years. He has started every league game and kept seven clean sheets so far. These two solid defences serve to make the north London derby a tight affair with lots of pressing football.

Young Talent

One of the main things that Pochettino has been lauded for is his development of youth players. Spurs are developing some of the brightest youngsters around. Supporters of the club along with England fans are pleased with the way the likes of Kane, Dele Alli and Eric Dier have been given a chance to grow and prove themselves as vital members of the team. Kane had a hugely impressive breakthrough season in 2014/15 which culminated in him winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award. He is now the focal point of the Spurs attack. Although he hasn’t been quite as prolific this season so far, he has a very impressive work rate and the propensity to go on a goalscoring spree. He displayed this with his hat-trick against Bournemouth, and followed up with four goals in the next three games. It must be noted that he also relishes London derbies. Dier has proven to be a very useful player for Spurs. In the past two seasons he has played as a full-back, a centre-half, and a defensive midfielder, with the latter looking like his ideal position. He provides good cover for the defence and also has three goals to his name. Alli has played in nearly every match so far and has contributed three goals and three assists. He earned a call up to the national side and impressed there as well with a spectacular goal (see below). The league this season is one of the most open in Premier League history, and it is so hard to predict a winner. Many think that this season Spurs could break into the top four. Is there a chance they could displace their bitter rivals? The next north London derby should prove to be just as exciting as ever, with Spurs looking for revenge on Arsenal for dumping them out of the cup. And on home soil, they could well manage a win.

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