Saka starts despite fitness worry, Smith Rowe decision made: Arsenal’s predicted XI vs Tottenham

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Arsenal head into the north London derby knowing that a victory against their biggest rivals will secure them a place in the Champions League for the first time in six years.

The Gunners come into this one with a four-point cushion, but despite being in a much more comfortable position than Spurs, make no mistake about it, Arsenal will be coming here to win.

Mikel Arteta’s side absolutely dominated Spurs earlier this season, but it’s fair to say that Tottenham are a different animal these days.

Indeed, Nuno Espirito Santo is gone and Antonio Conte is in, while the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur have injected a new life into Spurs.

This is one of the biggest north London derbies of all-time, and with that in mind, we’ve had a go at predicting Arsenal’s starting XI for this one.

It’s not the most interesting XI you’ll ever see, but we’re predicting Arsenal to go unchanged for this game.

This is arguably the Gunners’ strongest available XI right now, and after winning four in a row, we can’t imagine Mikel Arteta will want to make too many changes.

Interestingly, we’re predicting Bukayo Saka to start. The Englishman is a doubt for this game, but if ever there was a match where it’s worth gambling on the fitness of your star man, it’s this one.

However, we’re not expecting a return to the XI for Ben White. The former Brighton man is also a doubt, but with Rob Holding and Gabriel performing so well together, we don’t think Arteta will risk White in the same way he may with Saka.

Other than that, the team is about what you would expect it to be. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares start at full-back, while the double pivot of Mohamed Elneny and Granit Xhaka once again start here.

Gabriel Martinelli once again gets the nod over Emile Smith Rowe, despite the fact the Englishman caused Spurs all sorts of problems in the reverse fixture.

This may well be a career-defining game for Eddie Nketiah, the striker is in fine form, and with his Arsenal contract expiring, another standout performance could determine what happens next in this young man’s career.