Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal preview: Petr Cech doubtful for north London derby

Arsenal head to Wembley to face Spurs on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm) having not beaten their rivals in the Premier League away from home since 2014.

The Gunners are four points and one place adrift of their neighbours as they sit sixth heading into the north London derby.

But Wenger's men have won their last nine games at the national stadium, including a penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea in this season's Community Shield and the Frenchman is pleased to be back at Wembley.

Asked if he preferred the game to be at Wembley rather than White Hart Lane, Wenger replied: "Yes, because we have a positive history there.

"Of course Wembley is a pitch that is quality, a stadium with a big crowd and it is always a special day in your mind so overall, yes. At Wembley you play special games where you are under pressure to perform and we responded well to it every time."

Team news

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has no injuries to contend with for the match.

January signing Lucas Moura could make the squad after working on his fitness this week while Toby Alderweireld is in line to start after playing 90 minutes against Newport on Wednesday.

Harry Winks, Serge Aurier and Danny Rose all returned in the FA Cup fourth-round win in midweek and are also in contention.

Arsenal could be without Petr Cech for the match.

The experienced goalkeeper was forced off in the win over Everton with a calf problem and has not trained since as David Ospina prepares to deputise.

Nacho Monreal also came off in that 5-1 victory due to illness but should be available to retain his place while Danny Welbeck (hip) is back in contention. Santi Cazorla (Achilles) remains a long-term absentee.

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• Spurs have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games against Arsenal (W2 D4), although that defeat came earlier this season, losing 2-0 at the Emirates.
• Arsenal are aiming to win both home and away against their north London rivals in the Premier League for just the fourth time in the same season, doing so previously in 2004-05, 2007-08 and 2013-14.
• This is the first meeting between Spurs and Arsenal at Wembley since April 1993, when they met in an FA Cup semi-final, with Arsenal winning 1-0 from a Tony Adams goal.
• Harry Kane has scored six goals in six Premier League games against Arsenal, only failing to score in one those games - the reverse fixture this season. The England striker has scored four times in three home Premier League games against Arsenal.
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored four goals in four previous appearances against Tottenham Hotspur in all competitions; once in the Champions League (2 games) and three goals in the Europa League (2 games).
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan has assisted three goals in 120 minutes of Premier League action for Arsenal so far; the same tally that Alexis Sanchez managed in 1507 minutes of action for the Gunners in 2017-18.

Merson's prediction

This is a bit of a home game for Arsenal due to their Wembley record. They've lost six away games this season, but have got one of the best records at Wembley in recent years.

Spurs' Wembley record is better than it was, but Arsenal have the ammunition to hurt them. If Wenger turned round and said: 'Aubameyang, Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Ramsey, you four go and get on with it', and the other six keep it tight then I would give them a great chance. But the two Arsenal full-backs will be playing as wingers after five minutes and you know they'll be all over the shop defensively.

PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 (10/1 with SkyBet)

Betting

Tottenham are Sky Bet's even-money favourites for the victory with Arsenal priced at 12/5 while the draw is a 14/5 chance. Mauricio Pochettino's men are also favoured in the top-four betting at odds-on to secure Champions League qualification, while the Gunners are 13/2 to make up the ground.

Harry Kane heads the first goalscorer betting at 11/4 followed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to 5/1, while the prolific strike duo both to score is enhanced from 7/2 to 9/2 in Sky Bet's Price Boosts.

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