Tottenham vs Arsenal Preview – a fiery North London Derby awaits
Tottenham vs Arsenal is never just a fixture, but this one has a slightly surreal edge. Arsenal arrive in N17 as league leaders, trying to keep a title chase tidy after a midweek wobble. Spurs, meanwhile, are looking at the table like it’s a group chat gone wrong: far too many unread messages, and most of them are urgent.
It is also Igor Tudor’s first Premier League game in charge after Thomas Frank’s exit, which means you have the full North London Derby package: raw emotion, tactical guesswork, and a stadium that will be loud even if nobody is totally sure what they’re shouting about yet.
Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a derby with two different pressures. Arsenal need points to protect the summit. Spurs need points because the bottom half is getting uncomfortably close. Same match, very different heart rates.
The stakes are high for both Tottenham and Arsenal
Title chasers vs relegation fighters
Arsenal’s job is simple to describe and hard to execute: keep winning often enough that the chasing pack cannot turn one dodgy fortnight into a full-blown wobble. The 2-2 draw at Wolves, with a late equaliser conceded after Arsenal had been 2-0 up, was the sort of result that makes rival fans start checking the run-in with a grin.
Spurs are operating on a more primal level. They head into the weekend just a handful of points above the relegation zone, and they have already changed managers in February. The derby is not a convenient time to start over, but football rarely waits for convenience. A decent performance buys Tudor breathing space. A flat one risks turning the atmosphere into something spikier than the usual derby edge.
Team News
Tottenham
- Out: Wilson Odobert (ACL), James Maddison (ACL), Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), Lucas Bergvall (ankle), Destiny Udogie (hamstring), Kevin Danso (foot/ankle).
- Suspended: Cristian Romero (serving a ban).
- Doubts: Pedro Porro (calf) and Richarlison (thigh) are both described as major doubts, with a chance of making the squad if they tick the final boxes late in the week.
The knock-on effects are huge. If Porro cannot play, Spurs lose one of their main progressors from deep. If Richarlison can’t either, their best chaos merchant in the final third might be limited or missing. And Romero’s absence matters in any match, but especially in one where set-piece defending turns into a full-contact sport.
Arsenal
- Potential returns: Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz have been pushing to be available for Sunday.
- Doubts: Leandro Trossard is one to monitor after a collision at Wolves.
- Fitness notes: Bukayo Saka was reported to be fine after coming off in midweek. Riccardo Calafiori has recently returned to action. Ben White has also been back around the squad.
- Out: Mikel Merino remains sidelined following surgery, and teenager Max Dowman has been working back towards availability.
Arsenal’s picture is brighter than it was a few weeks ago, but the key detail is creative control. If Odegaard is ready to start, Arsenal’s attack tends to have more rhythm. If not, it becomes more about direct runners, set plays, and second balls.
🚨 OFFICIAL 🚨
— 365Scores (@365Scores) February 19, 2026
Bukayo Saka commits his future to Arsenal ✍️
New contract signed until 2031 🔒⭐️ pic.twitter.com/OZQIr1aA2v
Recent form, including the European angle
Arsenal
The headline is the draw at Wolves, where Arsenal led 2-0 and still left with only a point after a 94th minute equaliser from teenager Tom Edozie on his Premier League debut. Before that, there was another draw at Brentford, and an FA Cup win over Wigan that helped rotate legs and calm nerves. In Europe, Arsenal have done enough in the Champions League first phase to put themselves in the round-of-16 picture, with big away nights already banked and a generally solid defensive platform.
Mikel Arteta SLAMMED Arsenal’s performance in the 2nd half vs Wolves last night.
— 365Scores (@365Scores) February 19, 2026
Despite their recent form, do you think the Gunners will be able to win the league? pic.twitter.com/h4vU0srGnB
Tottenham
Spurs are coming into this fixture off the back of a 2-1 home loss to Newcastle that helped trigger Thomas Frank’s sacking, and they have been leaking results as well as players. The twist is Europe: Tottenham’s Champions League campaign has been far healthier than the domestic one, including emphatic home performances and enough points in the league phase to keep their knockout hopes very much alive. In other words, the squad has shown it can still produce serious-level football. The problem has been doing it often enough, and doing it in the league.
✅ Official: Tottenham appoint Igor Tudor as their new manager until the end of the season!
— 365Scores (@365Scores) February 14, 2026
Will the Croatian tactician be able to have a successful spell in North London? pic.twitter.com/sm4aHlzdZK
Key Stats
- This will be the 213th competitive meeting between the clubs, with Arsenal holding the historical edge overall (90 wins compared to Tottenham’s 67).
- Arsenal are unbeaten in the last seven North London Derby meetings in the league, and they have won their last three league trips to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
- Before those three home defeats to Arsenal, Spurs had only lost three of their previous 23 home games to the Gunners.
- Tottenham are without a win in their last eight Premier League games (four draws, four losses) which is their worst run in the Premier League since November 2007.
- Spurs are also the only side in the Premier League not to win a league match in 2026.
- The reverse fixture earlier this season finished Arsenal 4-1 Spurs, with Eberechi Eze scoring a hat-trick.
Key players: Micky van de Ven and Declan Rice
Micky van de Ven (Tottenham)
Van de Ven has been Spurs’ safety blanket and, amusingly, one of their unlikely sources of goals. This season, he has:
- Premier League: 22 appearances, 4 goals, 1 assist
- Champions League: 6 appearances, 2 goals
Head-to-head angle: Van de Ven has four Premier League appearances vs Arsenal in his career. The appeal here is obvious. In derbies, transitions are the oxygen. Van de Ven’s recovery pace lets Tottenham defend higher than they maybe deserve to right now. If Arsenal try to release runners early, he is the one defender who can turn a foot race into a controlled situation. He also offers a real threat on set pieces, which matters against an Arsenal side that can sometimes concede territory but hates conceding cheap goals.
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Rice is Arsenal’s organiser, firefighter, and occasional set-piece artist rolled into one. This season, he has:
- All competitions: 33 appearances, 4 goals, 8 assists
- Premier League: 23 appearances, 4 goals, 5 assists
- Champions League: 6 appearances, 0 goals, 2 assists
Head-to-head angle: Rice has 15 Premier League appearances vs Tottenham, with six wins, four draws, and five defeats. He’s also chipped in with two assists but he’s still chasing that elusive goal. This derby often becomes a game of loose balls and sudden momentum swings. Rice’s best work is stopping those swings from becoming spirals. He can shield the centre, cover for full-backs when the match gets stretched, and he is also a big part of Arsenal’s dead-ball threat, which is never a minor subplot in a North London Derby.
How this derby might actually be won
1) Spurs’ new manager bounce
With a new manager and a home crowd desperate for something to believe in, Spurs’ opening energy will matter. If they can win early duels and make Arsenal’s first pass out messy, you get a derby that feels alive for Spurs. If Arsenal play through it cleanly, the noise can flip into nervousness quickly.
2) The full-back problem
Spurs’ injury list makes wide areas fascinating. If Porro is absent, Tottenham lose a major outlet and some crossing quality. Arsenal will try to overload that side, especially with quick combinations that pull centre-backs into uncomfortable channels. On the other end, Arsenal’s own availability will shape how brave they are with their full-backs, because derby counter-attacks do not ask permission.
3) Set pieces
These games often swing on one delivery, one blocked run, one second ball. Arsenal’s structure on set plays has been a consistent weapon, while Tottenham have been forced into improvised line-ups that can make marking assignments fragile. If Spurs cannot control their box, it becomes very hard to win this match without scoring twice.
FAQs
- When is Tottenham vs Arsenal?
Sunday 22 February 2026. - Where is it being played?
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. - What time is kick-off?
Late afternoon in the UK (listed as 4.30pm). - Is this Tudor’s first league game in charge of Spurs?
Yes, it is his first Premier League match as Tottenham’s head coach. - Who are the key injury doubts?
For Tottenham, Pedro Porro and Richarlison are major doubts. For Arsenal, Odegaard and Havertz have been working to be available, while Trossard is one to monitor after midweek. - What happened in the reverse fixture?
Arsenal won 4-1 at the Emirates earlier this season, with Eberechi Eze scoring a hat-trick. - What is the key tactical battle?
Spurs trying to disrupt Arsenal’s build-up early versus Arsenal trying to slow the match down and control midfield territory through Rice and their structure.
By Nicky Helfgott – NickyHelfgott1 on X (Twitter)
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