Week 9 of the English Premier League will soon return to action after the international break and the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Interestingly, this week’s duel is ready to present the North London derby that brings Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur.
However, for Mikel Arteta as Arsenal coach, the North London derby this time was a disaster in itself.
The reason is that ahead of the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, most of the Arsenal players who are in charge of defending their respective countries have been injured.
After the international break, there were seven Arsenal players who returned to the Emirates Stadium injured.
This condition will certainly disrupt the mission of the Gunners to maintain the top position of the Premier League standings.
Arsenal’s injury list includes Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Emile Smith Rowe, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney.
Former Manchester United player, Mikael Silvestre, believes the Gunners face serious problems ahead of the North London derby later.
Arsenal this season have beaten Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Bournemouth, Fulham, Aston Villa and Brentford in the league so far.
The Gunners have only lost once, namely by Manchester United.
Silvestre thinks Arsenal will find it difficult to face Antonio Conte’s squad due to a storm of injuries, especially in the absence of Partey.
“Partey is a big piece of the puzzle for Mikel Arteta. Arsenal showed they were tense as soon as there was an injury to Xhaka or Partey. Some kind of missing body part that could be a problem this season,” said Silvestre, quoted by SportReviews from the Metro page.
Partey, who left Ghana early. Just moments before the match against Brazil reported to the national team for discomfort in his knee.
This is a major blow because the former Atletico Madrid midfielder has missed four of eight matches.
Thomas Partey is known to have suffered a thigh injury.
The midfielder’s recent injury has also raised new doubts about his long-term availability.
Although this injury is considered not too serious by Arsenal.
Tierney also returned early after impressing in Scotland’s 3-0 win over Ukraine.
Tierney returned to North London early due to the concussion protocol.
The full-back was withdrawn against the Republic of Ireland, following a head-on collision and so had to withdraw from the Scotland squad.
This condition is certainly a dilemma for Arteta in choosing a left back.
Because Oleksandr Zinchenko is also injured.
The 25-year-old is struggling to recover from a calf injury that ruled him out of the match against Brentford and missed playing for Ukraine.
Meanwhile another defender, Tomiyasu, has also returned from international duty.
The Japanese right-back impressed in his team’s 2-0 win over the United States.
But flew back to London in not very fit condition.
Back at Arsenal’s training base, London Colney, Ben White also wants to restore his fitness after experiencing a breakdown.
The centre-back was substituted at half-time in the win over Brentford in West London.
Smith Rowe and Elneny are both recovering from their injuries.
But these two players are predicted to be out for quite a long time.
Smith Rowe will face groin surgery after missing Arsenal’s last two games.
While Elneny is unlikely to play again this year after suffering a torn hamstring.
On the other hand, Tottenham actually enjoyed the international break.
The Spurs players appeared to shine and returned unscathed.
Son Heung-min and Richarlison performed brilliantly for South Korea and Brazil.
The reason, both of them scored a goal in a friendly match.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr also played for their respective countries.
Dejan Kulusevksi also performed quite well while defending Sweden in the UEFA Nations League.
Will the North London derby be a disaster for Arsenal?
