Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal will contest one of the most important north London derbies in years this Sunday.
Games between Spurs and the Gunners are always a huge deal, but this weekend, the derby is set to make or break one of the teams.
Tottenham currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, six points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are at the top of the table, but Manchester City have a game in hand, and we all know how difficult it is to stop their run-in momentum.
Highbury legend Martin Keown has looked ahead at the north London derby, and urged Mikel Arteta to give one player his first start in nearly two months.
The player in question is Gabriel Martinelli, and Keown reckons he could help Arsenal do what Newcastle did to Tottenham in their last outing.
What did Martin Keown say about Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli?
Keown wrote in the Daily Mail: “Ange Postecoglou’s philosophy is to push players up the pitch and that inevitably leaves a high defensive line.
“That was dismantled in Tottenham’s last game by Newcastle’s lightning-fast forwards and, with that in mind, Arteta may pick Gabriel Martinelli to make his first Premier League start in nearly two months.
“His pace could be vital on the left alongside the speed of Bukayo Saka on the right, and they will be capable of latching on to Martin Odegaard’s balls in behind.”
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Martinelli is a ‘phenomenal‘ talent who would no doubt relish the chance to dismantle Tottenham’s back line with his quality and pace.
However, Leandro Trossard has impressed on merit and is flying high, getting goal contributions and looking high on confidence.
I reckon Arteta should start Trossard and then, as the game wears on and players get leggy, bring him on to take advantage of a tiring Tottenham defence.
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