Waiting on a North London Derby is always a fraught experience if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur fan. This particular one is more fraught than usual for two major reasons: 1) Arsenal is really, REALLY good this season and are in the mix to win the title, giving them a little extra motivation beyond what they’d normally have in a match against their arch-rivals, and 2) Spurs are coming off a 4-0 thumping at Newcastle two weeks ago and have had nothing to do but train and think about what they’ve done.
Also, did I mention Destiny Udogie is out for the season after picking up an injury in training? That happened too.
But there is some good news — Ange Postecoglou says that both Pedro Porro and Richarlison are back and available for selection against Arsenal.
The only other noteworthy item from that short update video is that Oliver Skipp has a minor knock and is not in contention to play on Sunday. This is extremely important news.
In his press conference, Ange went into a little more detail on Udogie’s injury and what happened in training.
“Yeah, from the last game, a disappointing one for Destiny and for ourselves as well, because he’s been a big part of our year. It was just an unfortunate incident in training. He’s had the operation, it’s gone well – so hopefully it gives him time to have pre-season and get back into it. So we’ll miss him. Skippy picked up a small knock as well in training so he’ll be out for this weekend. So they’re the outs apart from the long-term ones. Pedro and Richy both trained all week so they’ll both be available.”
I don’t think anyone feels especially GREAT about where Tottenham are relative to Arsenal coming into this match, but if you want to hang your hat on the hope tree, here’s a convenient branch: in the past 20 years, Tottenham have only lost to Arsenal four times at home, compiling a record of 9-7-4. Of course, historical statistics like this are not a guarantee of success, but it’s a nice way of saying that Spurs have a much better record in home NLDs than away, and the occasion usually makes these matches difficult to predict anyway. Spurs might not win, but history says they’re more likely to get a result than not.
Elsewhere, Ange talked a little about the future — in particular, Mikey Moore, the 16-year old academy phenom who trained with the first team the past two weeks. Moore is an incredible talent, and while he’s struggled with injury this season he’s already an integral part of the U21 squad and is now training with the big boys.
“We’ve done that all year. We’ve had guys at different times from our academy and the Under-21s training with us for extended periods rather than just bringing them up for a day or two. Mikey has been really good.
“Look he’s a very talented boy and for him, he’s had a fairly disrupted season, he’s had a couple of injuries. When he’s performed, he’s performed really well. The reports I’ve had on him have always been outstanding. It’s been good to have him. Obviously we’ve had a couple of weeks without a game and it’s been good to get him involved in the first team. Again, to be fair to him he has adapted really well, he hasn’t looked out of place and it’s great for him. Hopefully it gives encouragement to him and some of the other guys who are coming through.”
Finally, Ange spoke a little about Dejan Kulusevski, who recently became a father for the first time with his partner.
“Yeah, it’s great for Deki, I know he’s very happy about being a dad. As I keep saying to the guys, it’s a life-changer. Somebody in your family unit becomes more important than yourself and sometimes for footballers that’s a bit confronting! But I’m sure Deki will handle it well and his partner. Bless them and their child.”
The North London Derby kicks off Sunday at 9 a.m. ET / 2 p.m. BST. God help us all.