Emmanuel Petit believes that only Son Heung-min would get into Arsenal’s starting eleven, with the Frenchman backing his former side to overcome their North London rivals this Sunday.
Spurs are looking to close the gap
Arsenal finished 23 points above Spurs in the Premier League last season and Ange Postecoglou’s men will be determined to close that gap this time out.
Even though the Lilywhites have not started the season as they would have wanted, they have a big opportunity to get a morale-boosting win over their local rivals and send a message to the rest of the Premier League.
However, Petit believes that Tottenham are no match for Arsenal, suggesting that the Gunners are better in every part of the pitch.
The 53-year-old questioned whether any Spurs player would get into Arsenal’s starting eleven, and when host Andy Goldstein suggested that Micky van de Ven might star over Gabriel Magalhaes, Petit responded to talkSPORT: “No way.”
Goldstein then stated Son would get in his team over Arsenal’s left winger Gabriel Martinelli, to which Darren Bent responded: “That’s the only one” with Petit admitting: “Probably, yeah.”
The former Arsenal man then added: “Even without Odegaard and Declan Rice, I stick with the Arsenal players.”
When Goldstein then proposed that James Maddison would start as the number ten in the absence of Odegaard, Petit responded: “Maybe. So maybe two players maximum, even when Odegaard and Declan Rice aren’t there. You have your answer [who will win the north London derby].”
Emmanuel Petit backs Arsenal to win
Petit admitted that he was initially worried about the derby due to the injuries Arsenal have but insisted that he now expects Mikel Arteta’s men to get the job done on Sunday, opining that Tottenham are under pressure to get a result.
He remarked: “I was worried, so I was predicting a draw, but now I’ve changed my mind. I read the newspapers as well, apparently [Yves] Bissouma is injured, they are not sure about [Dominic] Solanke and the central defender [Van de Ven].
“But even with those guys, I know they cannot afford to lose two games in a row, they lost to Newcastle before the international break.
“But I see this Arsenal team with Arteta, with the environment, the confidence, the way they work and have been dealing with things the last two to three years and the way they improve.
“I remember two years ago [May 2022] when they were thrashed [3-0] at Tottenham, they lost the [Champions League spot]. But last season it changed completely, I was worried about that, mentally and physically they were up for it.
“And I’m pretty sure that it will be the same on Sunday. It will be a tough game, I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of goals, I don’t see a close game, I will say 2-1 or 3-1 to Arsenal.”
Spurs Web Opinion
A lot of neutrals would start Van de Ven and Udogie in the combined eleven while one would not say there is a lot between Partey and Bentacnur/Bissouma/Sarr. Some Spurs fans would also have Vicario and Porro in the combined eleven.