Arsenal arrive at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday as Premier League leaders, but questions are mounting. Two dropped leads in their last two league games. A title race that Man City are refusing to concede. A captain and talisman whose fitness remains uncertain hours before kick-off. For all the comfort that 58 points and top spot should bring, this is a twitchy Arsenal heading into a derby.
Tottenham, for their part, are barely recognisable as a Premier League side. Sixteenth in the table with 29 points, five above the relegation zone, they have not won a league match since December 2025. They are, at the time of writing, the only top-flight club yet to win a Premier League game in 2026. They have collected just four points from eight league matches since January. Thomas Frank lasted barely two months before losing his job after a 1-2 defeat to Newcastle. In his place: Igor Tudor, making his competitive debut as Spurs head coach.
And yet. This is a derby. Form, table positions, and logic are frequently irrelevant once the north London klaxon sounds.
Competition Context
This is a Premier League fixture, Matchweek 27 of the 2025-26 season. Three points available. No aggregate. No second legs. Just 90 minutes that could have profound implications for both ends of the table: Arsenal’s title ambitions, and Tottenham’s fight to remain in the division.
Match Context: Two Clubs at Crossroads
Arsenal come into this fixture having failed to win from a leading position in three of their last five league games. The 2-2 draw at Wolves on 18 February, in which they conceded a stoppage-time equaliser, was the most recent example of a recurring pattern. A 1-1 draw at Brentford on 12 February followed a 3-0 home win over Sunderland. The title lead is real, but the vulnerability is also real: Manchester City sit approximately two points behind Arsenal, with a game in hand.
A win on Sunday would be a statement, both to City and to themselves.
Tottenham are in crisis. Their injury list reads like a hospital ward: ten confirmed absences, only 13 senior players available in training this week. Their captain, Cristian Romero, watches from the stands, suspended, this is match two of a four-game ban he received after his red card at Manchester United on 8 February. Their midfield is stripped bare. Their flanks are undermanned. And their head coach, Igor Tudor, has had less than two weeks to implement anything resembling a tactical system.
Tudor has declared himself “100% convinced” Tottenham will avoid relegation. Sunday is where that conviction gets its first competitive test.
Team Snapshots
Arsenal (1st, W17 D7 L3, 58 pts)
Arsenal have scored 37 league goals and conceded just 12 — the strongest defensive record in the division. Their attacking output is second in the league. On paper, they are the most complete side in England. On recent form, however, there is a fragility that has begun to concern even their own supporters.
Confirmed absences: Mikel Merino, stress fracture of the foot, likely season-ending.
Doubts: Martin Odegaard (knee injury ,Arteta cited a “big possibility” of availability but subject to final training assessment). Bukayo Saka (limped off against Wolves on 18 February, expected fit but monitoring ongoing). Kai Havertz (muscle injury — Arteta suggested a “big possibility” he could feature, pending training assessment).
Confirmed fit: Leandro Trossard was substituted against Wolves following a head knock but has been cleared of concussion and is available. No Arsenal suspensions.
Tottenham (16th, W7 D8 L11, 29 pts)
Only four points separate Spurs from the relegation zone. Their goal difference stands at -1 after 26 matches. Their recent form, winless in eight Premier League games, is the stuff of relegation nightmares, not a club that spent heavily in successive summers.
Confirmed absences: Cristian Romero (suspended, 4-match ban, game 2), Wilson Odobert (ACL, season-ending), James Maddison (ACL, long-term), Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring), Mohammed Kudus (thigh, out until after March international break), Ben Davies (ankle/foot), Lucas Bergvall (ankle surgery, January), Destiny Udogie (hamstring, 4-5 weeks), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Kevin Danso (foot).
Highly unlikely: Pedro Porro (calf — “slim to none” chance per club sources). Richarlison (thigh — very slim chances).
Expected fit: Dominic Solanke (was ill during the week; trained Friday; expected to be available).
Key Players
Arsenal
Martin Odegaard (doubt) If fit, the Norwegian is the player Arsenal build around. His absence in recent weeks has coincided directly with their form wobble. If he starts, it transforms Arsenal’s ability to control tempo and create. If he is absent, the burden shifts significantly elsewhere.
Bukayo Saka (doubt) England’s most dangerous wide forward. Limping off at Wolves was the image that dominated Arsenal’s last performance. He has been described as expected to be fit, but nothing has been confirmed. If available, he is almost certainly the most dangerous attacker on the pitch.
Gabriel Magalhães The Brazilian centre-back has been Arsenal’s most consistent defensive performer. With Romero absent for Spurs, Gabriel’s aerial dominance and positional awareness will be tested, but Tottenham’s attacking quality is so reduced that his primary task may be organisation rather than crisis management.
Tottenham
Dominic Solanke The striker was ill during the week but trained on Friday and is expected to feature. He remains Tottenham’s best hope of making something happen in the final third. Without Kulusevski, Maddison, and Odobert around him, Solanke faces an isolation that will test his hold-up play and movement.
Heung-min Son The club captain’s availability was not flagged in injury bulletins; he is expected to be available. In a squad stripped to 13 fit bodies, Son’s experience and quality on the ball will be crucial to whatever game plan Tudor attempts to implement. His ability to link and carry the ball may be Tottenham’s primary outlet.
Micky van de Ven The left-sided centre-back steps into even greater responsibility with Romero unavailable. Van de Ven’s recovery pace is Tottenham’s insurance policy against Arsenal’s direct attacking runners. He will face a stern examination.
Tactical Notes
Tudor has had limited time to work with what remains of his squad. Expect Tottenham to operate compactly and look to frustrate, given they have neither the personnel nor the cohesion to engage Arsenal in an open exchange. A low block with quick transitions via Son and Solanke is the most likely approach.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have shown in their last two outings that they can create chances but struggle to close games out when teams sit deep and press them late. The absence of Odegaard — if confirmed — limits their ability to find solutions against organised defences. Trossard, Martinelli, and any combination of available attackers will need to find ways in without the Norwegian’s creative control.
The question for Arsenal is not whether they are the better team. They clearly are. The question is whether they have the intensity and clinical edge on the day to avoid adding this to their list of dropped leads.
Prediction
Arsenal have won each of their last three visits to Tottenham’s stadium. They have won 6 of the last 7 Premier League meetings between these clubs, conceding very little across that sequence. Tottenham, with 10 absentees and a head coach in his first competitive game, face enormous structural challenges.
On the balance of verified evidence: Arsenal are the significant favourites. The only real counterpunch Tottenham possess is the unpredictability of a derby occasion and the possibility that Arsenal’s fitness doubts, particularly around Saka and Odegaard — materialise into real absences.
Statistics sourced from NBC Sports, ESPN, Al Jazeera Sport, Sports Mole, Sky Sports, Premier League official, Opta Analyst/The Analyst, Arsenal.com, Tottenham Hotspur official site. Data correct at time of writing. Kick-off 16:30 GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League from 16:00 GMT.
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