Arsenal will head into the upcoming North London derby away at Tottenham Hotspur knowing that they will likely need to win to keep their title hopes alive.
The Gunners are just one point ahead of Manchester City, who have played a game less, and they will need to be perfect in the final four games, whilst hoping that their title rivals slip up.
North London derbies are always heated affairs, but there is more motivation for Mikel Arteta to secure a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the title on the line.
Spurs will also have an extra desire to win the game, to not only ruin Arsenal’s title hopes, but to keep themselves in contention for a top-four spot, and Arsenal legend Martin Keown has now explained why this is set up to potentially be one of the greatest derbies in years.
Tottenham vs Arsenal could be one of the greatest North London derbies
Speaking on BBC Sport, Keown claimed that the motivation for Spurs to stop Arsenal potentially winning the league, as well as their own desire for a top four spot, adds extra fire to an already heated derby.
“Arsenal are still very much in this race. I mean it’s interesting isn’t it, to see what Man City did against Brighton. They looked emphatic, of course they did,” he stated.
“What I’m enjoying about this one, is normally when we used to play Spurs at the end of the season, it was about them being hellbent on stopping us winning something.
“Now, they’ve got an equal opportunity to get into the top four themselves. This could be one of the best North London derbies we ever see, an all-out attacking game, because we know what their manager will do and push that team up to the halfway line, and we hopefully see some fantastic football.”
The most heated North London derbies for Arsenal away at Tottenham
This is arguably the fiercest rivalry in Premier League history, and there have been some fiery clashes between the two in the past.
Arsenal won the league in fixtures away at Tottenham twice, with the first triumph coming in 1971, and the second in 2004 as the Invincibles secured their crown at the home of the enemy.
In 2015-16, the derby at White Hart Lane had extra edge as both teams were battling for the title, and Arsenal battled to a 2-2 draw with 10 men, and Leicester City went on to win the league.
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In 2021-22 the two sides went head-to-head for a top-four spot, and Arsenal crumbled to a 3-0 defeat in a crucial derby.
The upcoming game could see a lot of goals given the attacking prowess of Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, but Arsenal must not deviate from their approach which has seen them concede just once on the road in 2024.