Triple Arsenal title boost ahead of North London Derby as Mikel Arteta given Man City hope

Arsenal take on Tottenham in the North London Derby this Sunday with an opportunity to win a third-straight away clash between the sides on enemy soil for the first time since the 1980s. Arsenal have scored five and conceded just two in the last two meetings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but without Declan Rice who is suspended and perhaps Martin Odegaard who suffered an ankle injury with Norway it could be an even tougher challenge than before.

News of Odegaard’s injury is still awaiting confirmation with Mikel Arteta due to speak to the media on Friday ahead of the derby. Yet despite the persistent bad news that continues to pile on for supporters, there are positive signs going into the weekend and the weeks ahead.

Arsenal’s next three games include the derby followed by two more away trips to Atalanta and Manchester City. Three games in quick succession and they will test the depth of the squad.

Coming through any run such as this can, however, be a massive boost and winning a derby can provide all the momentum to head into the toughest away game of the season. Once done, Arsenal will have seen through Villa, Spurs and City before the end of September, setting up the remaining 30-plus games in the knowledge that the majority of the trickiest tests are now behind them.

Of course, Anfield and Old Trafford are still to come, but the records at Villa Park, Tottenham and the Etihad Stadium are some of Arsenal’s worst. While a challenge, it should be seen as a great opportunity to overcome and send a message to the rest of the league.

City themselves have some challenges of their own to overcome which will be another benefit to the Gunners. Nathan Ake suffered what looked to be a serious muscular problem in the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Germany that has a good chance of seeing him miss the visit of Arsenal next week.

While Arsenal take on Spurs, Man City have the benefit of playing at home. However, their opponents are a Brentford side who under Thomas Frank are no strangers to winning in Manchester.

In the 2022/23 season, the Bees managed to do the double over the champions, winning 2-1 away from home with a dramatic late winner and followed it up with a 1-0 win in May after Pep Guardiola’s side had already won the league. Bryan Mbeumo and company sit sixth in the league after a strong start with the Cameroon international comfortably filling the void left by the now-sold Ivan Toney.

As long as Arsenal beat Spurs, they will have a chance to overtake City in the league next weekend – or extend a lead should Brentford pull off another surprise. However, any points dropped could see the gap open to as much as eight points after just five games as the stakes remain exceptionally high.