23 mins: Nothing comes out of the second corner. Despite being boxed in for the first 20 minutes of this game, the Spurs were expected to be in the lead.

22 mins: The corner comes from the right. Kulusevski touches the right corner of the six-yard box and inexplicably goes to the short corner instead of the far corner, allowing Raya to turn the post for another corner.

21 mins: Kinsky is once again almost robbed by Havertz, but again he gets away with his mistake – this time a massive touchdown – and puts the Spurs on the attack. Spence bombs down the left and rolls deep into the Arsenal penalty area. Gabriel takes a corner while Solanke lurks.

19 mins: …but it’s better from Kinsky as he confidently beats another Arsenal corner clear.

18 minutes: Kinsky dawdles with the ball at his feet and his eventual attempt to pass out is blocked by the slipping Havertz. Disgusting Kinsky. He is very lucky that the ball does not bounce in Havertz’s direction and he can execute the bridle.

16 minutes: Bergvall takes on a fierce attack and tries to balance it out, piling on to a score of 60-40 in Partey’s favour. The overzealous young man slides hysterically into Partey and, like last week against Liverpool, should be included in the table, but comes away with a tick-off. Full marks for determination and effort, but – and with the caveat that the data set is admittedly small – Bergvall is waiting for a red card.

15 minutes: There is some space for Sterling at the bottom right. He reaches the byline and cuts back to… no one in particular. It’s a shame because Arsenal’s red shirts ended up somewhere else. “Sterling was dismissed by a reader after the Utd game as ‘just not a very intelligent footballer’ but I don’t understand how a player can be as successful as he was under Pep if that is true,” writes Paul Curievici. “I can’t be the only one who thinks he has one last renaissance in him? And he certainly deserves it, he was an exciting player in his prime.”

13 mins: Odegaard moves inwards from the right. Rice cushions the ball with a wonderful touch and gets into the path of Trossard, whose shot is blocked. The feeling that a lead goal for the hosts is only a matter of time.

11 mins: Rice rolls to the near post. Kinsky strikes confidently.

10 minutes: Odegaard hits the ball to the far stick, where Gabriel’s presence wins another corner on the left. Rice comes to go.

9 minutes: Odegaard swings the free kick towards the near post. Kinsky strikes, the ball bounces off the next player and lands in another corner from the right. Odegaard has to get this right.

8 minutes: Odegaard plays briefly to Trossard, whose cross is blocked for a throw. Then Bergvall Timber bowls out on the right touchline, and here comes another one of those famous set pieces.

7 minutes: Arsenal are clearly at the forefront when it comes to these early changes. Odegaard dances through the inside right channel and feeds Sterling on the overlap. Sterling crosses. Gray recognizes the danger and deflects the ball for a corner. This one comes from the right.

5 minutes: … shoots the ball directly out of the field on the other side for a goal kick.

4 minutes: More space for Lewis-Skelly, this time on the left. His attempt to cross failed at Dragusin and went out of bounds in the first corner of the evening. Rice saunters over to take it, and…

3 minutes: Lewis-Skelly penetrates from the left and plays a great pass through the middle for Sterling, who goes in hectares at the edge of the box. Kinsky stands up. Sterling doesn’t know whether to try to get around the goalkeeper or knock him down, and doesn’t do anything. A huge opportunity missed.

2 minutes: Rice puts the ball into the goal. Bergvall misses the mark with a clearing header, but the ball falls kindly to Kulusevski, who is able to finish the ball.

The Spurs start. They are immediately on the move, accompanied by pantomimic boos. But Arsenal get the ball and Sterling wins a free kick on the right touchline, which is bundled in by Spence. An early chance for one of them this Standard situations!

The teams are out! Arsenal in red with white sleeves, Spurs in second choice blue. Everyone looks really good. The atmosphere is heated up to derby level and it starts in a few minutes. “I took a look at the 2010 MBM and found an unnecessary reference to Roy Hodgson,” begins Richard Hirst, no doubt hot on my trail. “Perhaps you could remind your readers (he said pompously) what he achieved in 2010? Never be forgotten in SW6.”

Mailbag before the game. “Sterling – well, of course Arteta didn’t have much choice, although he might have tried calling a member of the public, if only for the first half hour. We’ve been here before – Pepe comes to mind, and good old Raheem, as much as he deserves sympathy for a tough few years, is clearly keen to emulate some of the dancing around and ball-giving away routine that we do was popular with the fans. “Freddie Ljungberg is still out there somewhere, maybe Mikel could call him?” – Charles Antaki

“It was incredibly kind of Sol Campbell (and Google) to give the away fans so much ammunition. I mean, as a neutral person he rarely comes across as likeable, but there were some really good lines in this ad. I’m sure his name will come up entertainingly in vain as the evening progresses. “Excellent work” – Sol Campbell Matt Dony

“Mingus! This is one of my favorite jazz albums of all time. It’s brilliant!” – Joe Pearson

Mikel Arteta speaks to TNT Sports. “We all love these games… a beautiful occasion… this is the moment of the season when you have the opportunity to take advantage… earn the right to be better than Spurs and beat them… Take it “Let’s take things as they come and make the best of them.”… the attitude and the way we played against Newcastle and Manchester United, let’s keep it up and we’ll win a lot of games… (Raheem Sterling) sees really good looking…he’s very motivated…he has one today great opportunity… the players are very excited about it… it’s a gift to be in one. We are able to make many of our fans very happy, so we will do our best to achieve this.”

They can take sevens against Tottenham Hotspur tonight to win. That doesn’t seem particularly generous considering they have only won one of their last 31 Premier League away games at Arsenal, that win back at the end of 2010. To be fair to Spurs, their 3-2 Triumph that day was one for the ages: relive it here in old-fashioned MBM format. (Contains references to Charles Mingus and Lester Young. Some old excuse…)

Ange Postecoglou speaks to TNT Sports. “It’s a special game… we should all embrace that part of it… it’s not just another game… (Antonin Kinsky) has handled things really well so far… some big games, some tricky games… it’s going to be a big test for him “But I’m sure he’ll do well… Aside from the fact that (Archie Gray) has helped us during this time, the growth we’ve seen in him and the benefit we’ll get from it if we have some players have back, be huge…We’re really excited about getting (Richarlison) back…him and Mikey Moore give us a few more options in the front third…Richy can’t wait to get out there and will see some action tonight…hopefully he can we will give the fans an unforgettable evening.”

It’s derby day, so chances are the Emirates will be a cauldron of chaos tonight. From Arsenal’s point of view, that would be a good thing, argues Jonathan Liew. “For all the focus on Arteta’s attention to detail, fixation on things like set pieces and defensive spacing, he is essentially a vibes coach.” Click below for more.

Arsenal make four changes to the starting XI from their FA Cup defeat to Manchester United. Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice and Thomas Partey have started; Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino and Jorginho drop to the bench as Gabriel Jesus prepares for surgery on his cruciate ligament.

Tottenham Hotspur make five changes from the team that started the win in Tamworth. Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Son Heung-min and Djed Spence compete; James Maddison, Sergio Reguilón, Brennan Johnson and Mikey Moore are on the bench, while Timo Werner is not there at all.

The teams

preamble