Football

Three key battles to look out for in north London derby including Harry Kane vs David Luiz


Arsenal take on Tottenham in the first north London derby of the season on Sunday.

The Gunners have started the season the brighter of the two sides, winning twice before losing to European champions Liverpool last time out.

Spurs on the other hand opened with a win but have drawn and lost their next two matches.

Last time out they were disappointing against Premier League strugglers Newcastle, are were beaten 1-0 at home.

Mauricio Pochettino will be keen to turn things around at the Emirates, but Arsenal will be no push overs in what is their most important match of the season.

Here we look at three areas the game could be won and lost for either side.

Unai Emery and Mauricio Pochettino go head to head this weekend

Nicolas Pepe vs Danny Rose

Arsenal new boy Nicolas Pepe has hit the ground running and looked dangerous in the Gunners’ defeat by Liverpool last time out.

He got the better of Virgil van Dijk – widely regarded the league’s best defender – on more than one occasion and will be full of confidence and looking to impress in his first north London derby.

Pepe is set to come up against Spurs left-back Danny Rose.

The Englishmen has started the season slowly – in fact he hasn’t been himself since he was transfer listed in the summer – and will have to be at his best to control Pepe.

Nicolas Pepe could get some joy against Danny Rose

The Ivory Coast international is both quick and tricky and showed against Liverpool he’s more than happy to run at defenders.

Rose himself is fast and good at tracking back, meaning the pair are more than a match for each other. But the Englishman does like to get forward and can sometimes find himself out of position.

Should Arsenal hit Spurs on the break – they certainly have the pace up top to do so – Pepe will have some joy.

David Luiz vs Harry Kane

There was much fanfare around David Luiz signing from Chelsea, but his performance in Arsenal’s defeat by Liverpool was nothing short of disatrious.

The Brazilian was schooled by the pace and trickery of Mohamed Salah, and Harry Kane will be looking at this match-up as the perfect opportunity to kick-start his season.

It would be unfair to say the England striker has started the campaign slowly given his two quick-fire goals in the win over Aston Villa.

David Luiz hasn’t made a very convincing start to the season

But since then he has struggled to get into games in the way he usually does.

Luiz isn’t short of confidence, and he’s experienced enough to not let the Liverpool debacle play on his mind too much.

That said, he’s under pressure to get the Gunners fans back on side.

Dani Ceballos vs Tanguy NDombele

Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos has hit the ground running at Arsenal following his loan switch from Real Madrid.

Ceballos made a 25-minute cameo in the opening day win over Newcastle, convincing Unai Emery he is worthy of a place in the starting XI.

Against Burnley the midfielder was a cut above the rest – he was man of the match and dictated the pace of the game by always presenting himself to receive the ball and pulling the strings.

Liverpool was a real test for Ceballos, and he struggled to control the midfield due to Arsenal spending so much of the contest on the back foot.

Tanguy NDombele is already a key player for Tottenham

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The physicality of new Spurs signing Tanguy NDombele could cause Ceballos problems and prevent him from having his own way in the middle of the park – should he pass a fitness test.

Ceballos will likely have to drop deeper to avoid a battle with the Frenchman, and will rely on the likes of Lucas Torreira cleaning up behind him.

NDombele has been sensational for Spurs following his big-money summer signing.

He scored and assisted in Tottenham’s opening two fixtures and was a huge miss in the defeat by Newcastle after suffering a minor thigh injury.

He is expected to return against Arsenal, but could miss the fixture.





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