Ian Wright completely disagrees with Paul Scholes’ North London derby score prediction
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta certainly has some tough decisions to make when his side travel to Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s North London derby.
Arteta will be without Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, the Arsenal boss will field a very unfamiliar midfield trio.
Kai Havertz seems likely to play in midfield against Tottenham, a move that will limit the German’s attacking threat.
On the other hand, Spurs should be close to full strength.
Only Ange Postecoglou will truly know how fit both Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven are right now, two exceptional talents in N17.
And whilst Solanke might be allowed to return to a role on the bench, Van de Ven will definitely be needed as a starter.
Cristian Romero was often out of position against Newcastle United, and didn’t have his Dutch partner to bail him out.
Ian Wright thinks Arsenal should be happy with a draw at Tottenham
Obviously, when predicting the North London derby result, Arsenal’s missing midfielders are a big consideration.
And when speaking on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, Ian Wright was reluctant to tip his old side to win, saying a draw would be a good result.
And whilst Wright thought a 2-2 draw seemed feasible, Paul Scholes disagreed.
Scholes boldly shared his prediction: “2-1 Tottenham.”
Taking a minute, Wright then replied: “We’re going to go 2-2. I think that our defence is good, if we go there and get the point this week, I’m not being negative, with that we’ve got missing, I think that’s a good point.”
Ange Postecoglou is yet to beat Mikel Arteta
In truth, before drawing against Brighton & Hove Albion – a result which was influenced by Rice’s controversial red card, Arsenal supporters might have accepted a draw in N17.
Going away in a North London derby is always difficult, regardless of the context.
However, given the dropped points mentioned, it almost feels as if Arteta’s side have to win to keep pace with Manchester City, who are a winning machine once again.
There will be times when City drop points across the season, but Arsenal may have effectively surrendered four points to their rivals after just four games should they draw.
But given their midfielders that are missing, avoiding defeat at Spurs, who were excellent at home against Everton, would be good damage limitation.