Tottenham and Arsenal usually provide ample entertainment in their Premier League meetings, and the potential significance of the latest edition of the north London derby makes it all the more likely to live up to expectations.
For Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, this is a chance to land a knockout blow with two games of the season remaining once their belated trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is over.
Spurs start the game four points behind Arsenal, whose position in the final Champions League qualification place of fourth will be unsurpassable for their neighbours should they win.
Victory for Antonio Conte’s side would throw open that coveted fourth spot in the Premier League standings – and Tottenham arguably have the easier of the remaining fixtures, hosting fourth-bottom Burnley before travelling to already-relegated Norwich.
The Sporting News is following the match live and providing live score updates, commentary.
Contents
Tottenham vs. Arsenal latest score
1H | 2H | Final | |
Tottenham | 2 | – | – |
Arsenal | 0 | – | – |
83 mins: Arsenal have come under a little less pressure since Son went off, although they are being penned into their own half by Spurs.
80 mins: Arsenal come as close as they have all night. Saka enters the penalty area on the left and whips a low cross into the path of the unmarked Odegaard in the middle of the penalty area, who zips a low shot into the hands of the descending Lloris.
76 mins: It’s looked inevitable for a while, and now Arsenal have to make that defensive change. They will hope Tavares has a quieter 15 minutes or so than their backline has endured so far tonight.
Our third change…
↩️ Gabriel
🔛 Nuno Tavares⚪ 3-0 🔴 (76)#TOTARS pic.twitter.com/yYuQs8Gray
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 12, 2022
74 mins: Son looks crestfallen on the Tottenham bench. Perhaps he felt he could have gone level on 22 goals with Salah in the remainder of this game.
73 mins: Just in case Arteta needed any more headaches, Gabriel has gone down with a problem and looks like he may need replacing.
Arsenal have White on the bench, or Tavares could replace Gabriel.
72 mins: Son looks dejected as Conte takes him off. Hojbjerg has a word with the striker in an attempt to console him.
Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn come on, with Kulusevski also making way.
71 mins: Odegaard sends a shot high into the stands from distance. Arsenal are showing few signs of mounting a comeback.
68 mins: Tottenham will only need to do better than Arsenal in their remaining games to finish fourth. Their rivals now have a 12-goal inferiority to them, damaged considerably by what looks like being a rout tonight.
65 mins: Son has his thumb up and is all smiles after narrowly failing to race into space on the left. He’s entitled to be chirpy right now.
62 mins: Son nearly has a second, failing to connect cleanly in space in front of goal with Emerson’s cross from the left.
The second-top scorer in the Premier League this season has his head in his hands, knowing that he has the technique to put chances like that away.
59 mins: Almost a hat-trick in spectacular style for Kane! Arsenal’s tormenter-in-chief has an abundance of space to canter forwards with the ball midway inside Arsenal’s half.
From a central position, he crashes in a bending shot that Ramsdale tips over his crossbar. That must have stung.
59 mins: Kane curls a cross from the left of centre towards the far post, placing it on the head of the onrushing Emerson, who finds space in front of Xhaka.
Ramsdale produces an excellent save from the header as Emerson plants it downwards, keeping the effort out with his right wrist. Arsenal scramble the danger away.
Might have a early night unless there’s a power cut. 🙈😩
— Ray Parlour (@RealRomfordPele) May 12, 2022
58 mins: Tottenham play triangle passes around inside Arsenal’s half on their right. The away defence is creaking.
57 mins: Nketiah arrows a ball from the right straight into Lloris’s path at the goalkeeper’s near post. Spurs fans will be more worried about whether their team can score again than anything Arsenal have done.
56 mins: Martinelli has been labouring to create anything for Arsenal during the last few minutes. The 20-year-old’s radar is awry as he sends a cross from the left out of play.
52 mins: Arsenal try to hit back. Martinelli races through the Spurs half to the left of centre and cuts a pass back into the path of Saka as he reaches the penalty area, who’s crowded out. Spurs eventually clear with the help of some defensive acrobatics.
50 mins: Kulusevski stomps inside the penalty area on the right, looking to compound Arsenal’s agony. Martinelli holds him off and wins a free-kick for the visitors.
48 mins: Sanchez had plenty of space to come forward and size up the options ahead of him inside the Arsenal penalty area for that goal.
The defender measured a low pass into the feet of Kane, who found his path blocked – just about – by Gabriel. Not to be denied, Kane stood his ground and poked the ball to Son inside the penalty area on the left, who walloped a rising shot into the far corner of the net beyond three Arsenal defenders. That could well be game over.
47 mins: Goal – Tottenham 3-0 Arsenal. This is turning into a massacre! Son now adds to the scoresheet, capitalising on haphazard Arsenal defending and determined forward play from Kane.
46 mins: No changes at the break for either side. Spurs start us off this time, presumably aiming to inflict more misery on opponents who have a man less.
This is so Spursy 🤣
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) May 12, 2022
Half-time – Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal: A typically tense, frenetic derby comes to a close with Spurs a man up, two goals up and well on course to reduce the gap on Arsenal to a point.
Arsenal had the better of proceedings early on but that’s all gone out of the window after Kane struck twice following Holding’s dismissal. Conte did celebrate that second goal, and he’ll be glad he’s not in Arteta’s shoes at the break.
44 mins: There will be two minutes of added time here. Arteta won’t be relishing them: he’s shaking his head and will doubtless have plenty to say in the dressing room.
44 mins: Just when you think Arsenal are buried, Saka curls in a shot from outside the penalty area on the left that forces Lloris to spring up and tip the effort over the crossbar.
The home fans roar again after Saka does nothing with the corner from Arsenal’s right. Then Odegaard breaks free inside the penalty area and responds wastefully.
42 mins: Kane daggers in a low shot from the edge of the penalty area on the left, Gabriel temporarily repelling the danger.
Emerson Royal then arrives late at the right-hand post for the ensuing cross, sweeping a shot over the angle. He should have done better there.
39 mins: We mentioned Kane’s record against Arsenal after his first goal tonight. If their talisman needed to endear himself to the home supporters any more, becoming the Premier League player to score the most goals against Arsenal is the ideal way to do it.
LET’S GOOOOOOOOO 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QGcKQRmkhM
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 12, 2022
37 mins: Goal! Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal. Kane conquers Arsenal again, stooping at the far post beyond Saka after Emerson Royal nods the cross towards the far post from that corner.
This has turned into a nightmare for Arsenal. Their fragility at that corner cannot have been helped by Holding’s absence following that sending-off, and Spurs are now well on their way to moving only a point behind them in the Premier League table.
36 mins: Tomiyasu takes no chances with a ball that loops up deep inside the Arsenal penalty area, heading behind for a Spurs corner on their right. Arsenal are wobbly and need to hold on.
34 mins: Whether Holding knew too much about it or not, that was a nasty shot that Son took to the face. He’s still receiving treatment, eventually rising to his feet.
White is back in contention for Arsenal and is on the bench tonight. The versatile defender could be an option for Arteta, although he’ll want his side to earn at least a point here if they can.
33 mins: Red card – Arsenal are down to 10 men as Holding is sent off! Dier has an abundance of space in a central position midway inside the Spurs half, angling a diagonal ball towards the run of Son outside the penalty area, where Holding appears to crack Son in the face with his elbow as he tries to hold him off.
Kane complains to Tierney, who produces a second yellow card for Holding following that earlier tangle with Son on the halfway line. Arteta is consulting his staff on tactics, knowing his team are really on the ropes now.
30 mins: Spurs break down the right from their own half, Bentancur almost finding Kane with a low cross into the penalty area.
Cedric does well to deny the forward, but Arsenal are increasingly at full stretch and making mistakes in possession – a contrast from their composed start.
29 mins: Xhaka scoops a shot high into the stand from a considerable distance out. Arsenal haven’t created much since their energetic early menace.
Tomiyasu raises his hands in applaud, encouraging his teammates and, perhaps, the away end.
28 mins: As much as it’s hardly out of character for him, Arteta looks stern on the touchline. He’s got reason to if he knows the stat that Arsenal have lost seven of the eight games in which they’ve conceded first this season.
27 mins: The crowd are in full voice again now. Arsenal give the ball away with a sloppy pass inside their own half, and Son charges down the left again, releasing Kane outside the penalty area in a central position.
The scorer arrows to his right in an attempt to put Tomiyasu off balance, but the defender recovers well to block Kane’s low strike. The rebound falls to Emerson Royal, who sends a shot wide.
24 mins: Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy are the only other players to have scored 12 goals against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Kane also has three assists in the 17 games he’s played against the Gunners.
23 mins: Goal! Tottenham 1-0 Arsenal. Kane slots the penalty to Ramsdale’s left as the goalkeeper guesses the other way. Conte does not react. Kane’s spectacular record against Arsenal continues, and Spurs are ahead!
21 mins: Penalty to Tottenham! Kulusevski wedges an inswinging cross from the right towards the far post, where Son is nudged in the back by Cedric – Tierney points at the spot!
That was clumsy defending from Arsenal. Kane steps up against Ramsdale.
19 mins: Sessegnon tries to hang in a cross from outside the penalty area to the left of centre. Arsenal clear. Neither goalkeeper has been properly tested yet.
18 mins: Arsenal clear Tottenham’s free-kick from the right. Conte is booked. Even when there aren’t lots of shots going in, the derby tends to be action-packed.
17 mins: Miscontrolling the ball when you’ve got Saka behind you and are near your own penalty area is not the wisest idea for a defender.
Ben Davies fluffs his lines and ends up on the floor trying to claw the ball away from Saka with his feet. He’s booked, and Arsenal have a free-kick in a dangerous area on the right.
16 mins: Martinelli breaks free down the left and wins a throw-in deep inside the Spurs half. Arsenal then move play back into their own half.
A reminder, as their patient tactics might suggest, that a draw would be a positive result for Arsenal, who would be four points clear of their opponents with two Premier League games left.
14 mins: It’s a potentially foolish suggestion to make in this game, but the action has calmed down a little since Arsenal tore at Spurs in the opening minutes and the hosts then fashioned a few openings of their own.
The visitors look freer at the back and seem to have more space, continuing to play passes around inside their own half. Spurs look like they won’t mind that, bearing in mind their speed of attacking threat.
12 mins: There’s a pattern emerging in the last few minutes: this time Holding brings Son down on the halfway line on Spurs’ left, and the pair engage in a spot of comical wrestling.
Tierney has a word with both players, and Tottenham do have a free-kick this time. Son has a formidable recent record in this fixture, and Arsenal need to make sure they don’t end up with players in the referee’s book early on.
11 mins: Conte has both hands up and makes his feelings felt after Odegaard interrupts another Son sprint down the left.
9 mins: Son goes on his first run down the left. No matter how many times you’ve seen him do it, his quick feet still dazzle once he sets off.
Elneny dispossesses him as he approaches the penalty area, and Son’s plummet to the floor piques protests from those partisan home fans. Referee Paul Tierney says no.
7 mins: Spurs cause Arsenal trouble with another run by Kulusevski down the right. Emerson Royal sends in a cross that causes confusion, and then another delivery from that flank results in a cacophony of calls from the home fans as Arsenal don’t deal with it convincingly.
5 mins: It’s taken longer than Conte – who has the collar of what looks like a polo shirt up – might have liked, but Spurs finally have an attack to their name.
Kulusevski attempts to race into the Arsenal penalty area from the right-hand byline, and Gabriel holds him off with his back. Arsenal win the free-kick.
4 mins: Odegaard has the first shot on goal, firing a shot in from outside the penalty area to the right of centre. Lloris claims comfortably in his goalmouth.
That chance was fashioned by Arsenal harrying Spurs inside their own territory again and winning the ball back level with the penalty area on the right, Cedric feeding Odegaard for that chance.
3 mins: Spurs are still being starved of the ball. Arsenal are working hard to close them down when they do have the chance to keep the ball inside their own half.
2 mins: Arsenal are having all of the possession, knocking passes about to a din of boos from the home fans. A fine tackle from Dier on Nketiah ends the striker’s attempt to profit inside the penalty area – and he seemed to go down very easily there, without any contact from Dier.
1 min: Ramsdale advances well outside his penalty to receive a pass rolled back to him by Arsenal from kick-off.
The goalkeeper then tries to launch an attack upfield which fizzles out deep inside territory on the right.
2 mins to KO: Antonio Conte is gazing at the players as they size each other up around the centre circle. “We have to be better than Arsenal if we want the three points,” he told Sky Sports a little earlier. “We know they are a really good team.”
There is some atmosphere at a full house ahead of arguably the most important game of the 2021-22 season for both sides. We’re ready to go!
5 mins to KO: The players have emerged from the tunnel and are out on the pitch! Here’s how Arsenal looked a little earlier.
mins to KO: Lots of encouraging noises as Spurs emerged from their inner sanctum for their warm-up. They really need to win tonight, as a draw would leave Arsenal needing only to win one of their two remaining games – away to Newcastle and at home to Everton – to secure fourth ahead of Tottenham.
30 mins to KO: Arteta has just spoken about Saka’s return, Ben White’s availability and what he makes of a potentially seismic night in Arsenal’s season.
45 mins to KO: Here’s how the teams line up! Tottenham make one change: Davinson Sanchez starts and Cristian Romero is not included in the squad.
Arteta names the same team that started the 2-1 win over Leeds on Sunday. Saka was a doubt but starts.
1 hour to KO: Here’s how Harry Kane and Tottenham arrived as they aim to avoid Arsenal doing the double over
them this season.
The England captain’s 11 goals in 16 matches make him the top scorer in the history of this fixture.
1 hour 15 mins to KO: Ex-Spurs and Netherlands playmaker Rafael van der Vaart knows about this game – he scored four times and provided two assists in four Premier League games against Arsenal during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Both of those assists – as well as one of his goals – came at the Emirates in November 2010, when Spurs recovered from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
1 hour 30 mins to KO: Arsenal have arrived! A win tonight would ensure they finish above Spurs in the Premier League for the first time since 2016.
Spurs are on a good home run though, winning four of their last five matches here including a 3-1 victory over Leicester that was as comfortable as the scoreline makes it sound last time out. Their only blip was a limp 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on May 16.
1 hour 45 mins to KO: Son Heung-min figures prominently in this Premier League mini-preview of this game, and the striker has had an exceptional calendar year as well as a record in this fixture that is ominous for Arsenal, with three goals and two assists in his last four derby appearances.
The 29-year-old has scored and been involved in the most goals – 12 and 17 are his numbers for those – of any player in the Premier League in 2022.
He is the second Spurs player to score 20 Premier League goals in a season without any of them being penalties – Gareth Bale is the only previous holder of that accolade, with 21 during the 2012-13 campaign.
2 hours to KO: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News’ coverage of a north London derby that is keenly anticipated even by the standards of this showdown between two of the Premier League’s most familiar and fierce rivals.
When Spurs last hosted this fixture, in December 2020, they were managed by Jose Mourinho and won 2-0 to go top of the table, above Liverpool on goal difference and six points clear of Manchester City.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was under a year into his tenure and was in charge of a side who were 15th in the table at the time. Now they can end Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and seal fourth position in the table by winning at Tottenham for the first time in eight attempts.
Their arch-rivals need little more incentive to ensure there is no gloating and move a mere point behind them with three points of their own. Buoyed by an impressive draw at Liverpool on Saturday as part of a run of one defeat in eight games, this is an opportunty for Spurs to show how much they have improved since losing 3-1 at Arsenal in September.
How to watch Tottenham vs. Arsenal
UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
Date | Thurs, May 12 | Thurs, May 12 | Thurs, May 12 | Fri, May 13 |
Time | 19:45 BST | 14:45 ET | 14:45 ET | 04:45 AEST |
TV channel | Sky Sports Main Event | USA Network, Universo | — | — |
Streaming | NOW TV | fuboTV | DAZN | Optus Sport |
UK: The north London derby is available in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, and streamed on NOW TV.
USA: Thursday’s match is available in the United States on USA Network (English) and Universo (Spanish), which can both be accessed via fuboTV with a free trial available for new users.
Canada: In Canada the match is available via DAZN on streaming platforms.
Australia: Fans in Australia can watch the match on Optus Sport on streaming platforms.
Tottenham vs. Arsenal lineups
Tottenham starting lineup (3-4-3): Lloris – Royal, Sanchez, Dier, Davies – Sessegnon, Bentancur, Hojbjerg – Kulusevski, Son, Kane
Arsenal starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale (GK) – Tomiyasu, Holding, Gabriel, Cedric – Xhaka, Elneny – Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli – Nketiah
Tottenham vs. Arsenal betting pick & prediction
With so much on the line and often very little to separate the two, it’s a tough one to predict but the betting markets give Spurs the slight advantage as the home side.
As far as how the match might play out stylistically, it’s worth pointing out that the odds favor the over 2.5 total goals and both teams to score. So goals are expected even though Spurs and Arsenal have shown they can defend effectively in high-stakes situations.
Here are the stats to keep in mind: The home team has not lost a match between these two sides in Premier League play since a Spurs home defeat back in March of 2014. That streak spans 15 games, with Spurs winning five (all at home), Arsenal winning four (all at home), and six draws. In addition, no team has won three in a row in this league fixture since an Arsenal run way back in 1987-89, and with the Gunners having won twice on the trot, Spurs could be expected to bounce back.
The lean here is in favor of the hosts and the under total goals with four of the last five north London derbies hosted by Tottenham seeing two or fewer goals. The matches at the Emirates are usually the wilder ones.
Pick: Tottenham or draw & under 2.5 (+110 on DraftKings)
Prediction: Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal
DraftKings | Sports Interaction | SkyBet | |
---|---|---|---|
Tottenham Win | +115 | +106 | +110 |
Draw | +255 | +257 | +250 |
Arsenal Win | +240 | +230 | +240 |
Both teams to score Y / N | -165 / +130 | -169 / +109 | -163 / +120 |
Over / Under 2.5 goals | -125 / +105 | -132 / +103 | — |
Tottenham -0.5 | +115 | +108 | — |
Arsenal +0.5 | -135 | -139 | — |