It's about more than pride

Arsenal and Spurs will clash this weekend in another explosive instalment of the North London derby as usual the bragging rights and three points are up for grabs but this time there’s more on the line for both teams. Traditionally Arsenal have had the better of the exchanges in matches as well as honours over Spurs, but this weekend could confirm that the balance of power in North London has well and truly shifted.

Spurs, after coming close on a number of occasions in recent seasons, finished above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years when they finished second last season and that was capped off with the news that the Gunners had failed to finish in a Champion’s League spot. And because of this it would seem the shoe is very much on the other foot now as the roles between the two rivals have seemingly been shifting in recent seasons.

In the past Arsenal were blessed with the talents of some of the legends of the game which included the likes of Thierry Henry, Ian Wright, Patrick Viera, Dennis Bergkamp, just to name a few, whose talents were honed under the tutelage of an innovative manager in Arsene Wenger, but today Spurs are the ones brimming with talent and potential legends. Spurs have their own legend in the making in Harry Kane backed by the exciting talents of Dele Alli, Christian Ericksen, Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanayama and additionally in Mauricio Pochettino they have one the rising stars of the managerial world.

As a result, Spurs collectively look a more complete package when compared to Arsenal and recent results are proving it might be the case. Spurs come to Wembley on the back end of two tough fixtures against top four rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. Both games showed how far Spurs have come as they were brilliant in dismantling United at Wembley and had to show resolve to come away with a draw at Anfiled. On that basis a win against Arsenal would be that much sweeter as it would put some distance between them and their rivals while also pushing them closer to their target after a challenging point in the season.

However, even though Arsenal aren’t what they used to be they come into this weekend with their own momentum as the arrivals of Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reignited the Gunners to a 5-1 win at home and in doing so put on display the potential this new look team possess. Along with Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang could prove to be a devastating unit and Saturday would be a fitting introduction of the new Arsenal.