Tottenham v Arsenal: Team news, what managers said
The 199th North London derby sees Arsenal head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday evening, February 22, 2026, looking to get back to winning ways and continue their recent dominance of this fixture, while trying to stretch their lead in the league standings, as Manchester City piles pressure.
The Gunners have won six of their last seven league games against Spurs, including the last three at the home of their arch-rivals. They will want to keep that form going to once again give all Gooners the local bragging rights, and also collect a big three points before they head into their final 10 league games of the season.
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After back-to-back draws on the road, Arsenal are making the short trip to their neighbours, who are under new management following Igor Tudor’s short-term arrival after Thomas Frank was sacked last week, with Spurs hovering dangerously above the drop zone.
The former Croatia midfielder was most recently at Juventus, where he was dismissed in October after a poor start to the Serie A season.
No home comforts
After a 17th-place finish last term cost Ange Postecoglou his job despite lifting the Europa League, Frank’s tenure ended last week after a meek 2-1 loss against Newcastle United, which leaves them 16th, five points above the drop zone and with two league wins from their last 17.
The last time they collected three points was at Crystal Palace in December, meaning Spurs are the only side without a Premier League win so far in 2026. They have drawn four and lost four of their last eight games, and since their opening day win against Burnley, the Lilywhites have won just one of their 12 league matches on home soil.
Since the turn of the year, West Ham United and Newcastle have become the latest teams to leave with victories, while Sunderland earned a point. However, Spurs did come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester City in front of their own fans at the start of the month, and finished fourth in the Champions League table to book a last 16 spot.
What the managers said
Arteta: “We have a long season. Chapter 27 says, ” Okay, we draw against Wolves in this manner. What I’m very interested in is the next one, it’s what we are made of. Ok, what do we do about this, and how do we write our own destiny from here and going forward, and that’s it. You have to react to that because life moves on, the result has to stay, unfortunate as it was.”
Tudor: “I understand the importance of this game, this is a north London derby. Everybody expects the three points from us. We are aware of this, but what was my goal in these first sessions is that we became a team, that we became a team in the right meaning of the word, the team who want to suffer when it needs to suffer. To fight, to run, to have the right mentality.”
Team news
Leandro Trossard came off late on against Wolves but Arteta has said he’s fine to feature, as is Bukayo Saka who also had to be withdrawn at Molineux as he manages his fitness.
Martin Odegaard has missed the past couple of matches with a small knee issue, while Kai Havertz has a muscle problem, and they will be assessed in the build-up to see if they can feature. Mikel Merino is out for the long term with a foot injury that required surgery.
As well as a full treatment room, Spurs will be without captain Cristian Romero through suspension. They have lost each of their last six home Premier League games that the Argentinian has missed.
While Dominic Solanke should recover from illness, Pedro Porro and Richarlison are closing in on returns from hamstring injuries that have sidelined them for the past month, but are unlikely to be ready. Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus are definitely out with the same ailment.
Lucas Bergvall required ankle surgery last month and is out, as is Kevin Danso after snapping a toe ligament. Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are all out long-term with knee injuries, while Ben Davies has a broken ankle.
