Marquee matchup: Arsenal welcomes reeling Tottenham
Like a ravenous shark catching a whiff of a distant blood, Arsenal welcomes hated rival Tottenham to the Emirates poised to pounce on an undermanned victim.
Tottenham may be the Premier League's only unbeaten club, but Mauricio Pochettino's lot make the five-mile trip a vulnerable side on the heels of a drab midweek defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.
Toby Alderweireld is out, both Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela are major doubts, and Harry Kane is unlikely to start. Kane's absence is bad news, as Spurs have been short on attack, bagging just 23 goals in 16 matches in all competitions, with five of those coming against third-tier Gillingham in the League Cup. Over the same 16-match period, Arsenal has scored 42 goals, and while nine of those came in victories over Bulgarian minnow Ludogorets, Arsene Wenger's men have scored nine times more than their north London foe.
Over the last 10 meetings between the two, Arsenal has held the edge with five victories to Tottenham's two, though history means little when it comes to the campaign's marquee tilt.
Injuries and suspensions
In terms of injuries, Spurs are hampered by ailments to arguably their two most important players. Alderweireld will not play, and Kane is questionable, and the season's most cutthroat clash is hardly the venue for a return to fitness after a two-month absence. Cynics will point to the fact that Kane wasn't even on Pochettino's teamsheet for the Leverkusen visit, and it's not like the 35-minute drive to Wembley was a taxing proposal.
Pair that with doubts for Dembele and Lamela, and Pochettino's cupboards appear perilously bare.
Without Aldeweireld, Eric Dier is likely to slide in alongside Jan Vertonghen, while Vincent Janssen may get the start up top. Janssen has three goals this season, all of which were from the spot. Moussa Sissoko is serving the last of a three-match ban, and considering how poor he was Wednesday against the Germans, that may be a blessing in disguise for Spurs.
Boasting its deepest side since the Invincibles, Wenger has a selection headache that would be a luxury for most managers. Santi Cazorla will miss out, though Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal, and Theo Walcott are all fit to play after not travelling with the team to Bulgaria.
Projected lineups
Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Ramsey; Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Sanchez
Tottenham: Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama, Winks; Son, Alli, Eriksen; Janssen
What to watch
Arsenal has yet to face a side applying a high press to the extent of Spurs, though Jurgen Klopp's Gegenpressing-employing Liverpool lot was a decent glimpse of what Pochettino will opt for Sunday. Arsenal appeared disjointed against the Reds, suffering its only defeat since a loss to Barcelona in March, though to be fair, it was a squad with Rob Holding and Calum Chambers at centre-back.
The high press will force Arsenal to be near-perfect on the ball, which will likely prompt Wenger to start Aaron Ramsey alongside Francis Coquelin, with the Welsh international preferred to Granit Xhaka by virtue of a remarkably better disciplinary record. That said, Xhaka is a better passer than Ramsey, and the Swiss international's ability for incisive balls will help bypass Tottenham's pressing lines.
Without a scoreless draw between the two since 2009, odds are there will be some goals Sunday at the Emirates, just don't expect too many from Tottenham.
Prediction: Arsenal 3 (Walcott, Sanchez, Koscielny) Tottenham 1 (Son)