Tottenham will hope to avoid both another home defeat and an unwanted Premier League feat in Sunday’s north London derby
Arsenal head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium looking for a third-consecutive league victory on the ground of their bitter rivals, to keep pace with leaders Manchester City and Liverpool.
Defeat at Newcastle last time out has placed further importance on this weekend’s clash for Spurs who sit tenth in the table after three games.
However, if Ange Postecoglou’s side hope for an immediate return to winning ways, they will have to break a rather unique own-goal hoodoo.
That’s because Tottenham have conceded an own goal in each of their last three Premier League meetings with Arsenal.
No team has ever conceded four own goals in consecutive games against the same opponent, an unwanted piece of history Spurs will want to avoid – especially against their arch-rivals.
During their meeting in April, Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg inadvertently headed into his own net from a corner to give the Gunners the lead on their way to a 3-2 win.
It came after Cristian Romero was awarded with an own goal in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates last September.
Prior to that, ex-Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a hash of Bukayo Saka’s cross, turning it into his own net.
Strangely, all three own goals were a result of Saka’s enterprising play on Arsenal’s right flank.
The three unfortunate moments all came at pivotal times that enabled Arsenal to open the scoring.
Postecoglou will be aware of his side continuously handing their biggest rivals a welcome advantage and a repeat of past mishaps will provide another tall order for Spurs to overcome.
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Like Spurs, the Gunners go into Sunday’s match aiming to return to winning ways after a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton last month.
Boss Mikel Arteta is sweating on the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard for the clash after he limped out of Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday night.
The 25-year-old has returned to London to undergo tests after suffering what appeared to be an ankle sprain.
Arteta will be without new signing Riccardo Calafiori through injury while Declan Rice will miss the short trip through suspension.
