Arsenal v Tottenham: Premier League – live

I wonder if Spurs will play out short from the back. Against Man United, they were fortunate not to go behind trying that, and Arsenal are a far more cohesive pressing unit. They’ll be wary of leaving midfield space in the process, but with Rice mopping up there, I’d expect them to jump aggressively wherever possible.

Talking of Rice, where do we stand on him? I love his athleticism and leadership – to be captain of a Premier League side, as he was at West Ham, aged just 20, tells us something very serious about – but I’d like a bit more quality on the ball. Ultimately, though, he makes Arsenal so much harder to beat, which necessarily makes it easier for them to win.

I’ll be honest: typing all that in words has made me struggle to see anything other than an Arsenal win. I don’t think Spurs have the solidity or firepower to cope, but if they score first you never know.

As for Spurs, they will, I imagine, be targeting the space in behind Oleksandr Zinchenko, who won’t stay at left-back and isn’t a great defender, with Maddison dropping into pockets and Johnson and Son darting into gaps, waiting to be fed in.

So where is the game? Arsenal will fancy their front players buzzing about the good-but-wild Romero and the good-but-inexperienced Van de Ven, and I worry about Pedro Porro’s ability to deal with Jesus. On the other flank, Destiny Udogie has made a brilliant start to his Spurs career, but Bukayo Saka is a different opposition to any he’s faced thus far. On that basis, I’d expect Arsenal to stretch the play and create overloads out wide, with a full-back inverting to try and do the same in the middle.

I’m also interested to see how Bissouma does today. At his best, he’s Declan Rice with feet, but that’s far easier to achieve when actual Declan Rice isn’t on the other team. I wonder if, had Thomas Partey been available, Rice might’ve started in the left channel to get after the Spurs midfield, but instead, he’ll be hunting down James Maddison, the man who makes them tick.

On which point, it’s a modern miracle that Sky’s Fanzone never ended in violence.

One of my favourite goals this century came in the 08-09 iteration of this fixture, Aaron Lennon competing Spurs’ comeback from 4-1 down. But what gets me every time is the fan in the celebration.

Naturally Postecogl0u isn’t arsed about what went on before he came in – Spurs’ dreadful away-derby record for example – and says these are the kind of games for which you join the big clubs. He’s picked Johnson for a full debut because his pace might be useful, and though Ivan Perisic is injured, the squad is a good shape. When facing a quality opponent, you have to make small adjustments, but he’s not altered much because the idea is to impose his team’s will and force Arsenal to change.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how Fábio Vieira does today. He was, overall, poor last season, but has been very good so far this and is now keeping Emile Smith Rowe, Jorginho and Kai Havertz out of the starting XI. He will, though, find Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma a tricky proposition, physically and technically. I’m a little surprised he’s been given the start, but a good performance here would seriously set him up.

Public service announcement: regular readers will know I’m obsessed with shoving at them great stuff I come across, and goodness me have I got some of that for you here. I was in Ibiza the week before last and found myself in DC10, listening to one of the most uplifting, interesting, intelligent, surprising, erudite, technical and banging sets I’ve ever heard – and to my shame, I’ve heard a few. The DJ – and producer – responsible was Adam Port, who commandeered the party and infused it with the most obvious love of tunes you’ll ever come across, blending house, techno, afrobeats, r&b and pop into a downright thrilling journey through the sound of NOW that left us desperately trying to get back before the end of the season. Check him out:

Oh man, this is fantastic. Football is the greatest.

Gary Nev wonders if Jesus on the left will become more of a thing, and I can see why – he’s a goal-threat there, less so in the middle where his numbers aren’t great. However, the width and pace Martinelli brings seem – to me – to be crucial to Arteta’s side, and if I was Jesus, I’d be worried that next summer’s big signing will be a centre-forward.

As for Spurs, Brennan Johnson for Manor Solomon is the only change to the side that started last time out against Sheffield United.

Mikel Arteta tells Sky you can feel the emotion on both sides and, in classic footballese, notes that both sides “are in a good moment”. He’s without Leandro Trossard, who “felt something”, and also Gabriel Martinelli, but is happy to have Gabriel Jesus available, who’ll start on the left. Pressed on his choice of keeper, he says that he makes the choice on a game-to-game basis – he’s allowed to get away with this non-answer, not asked to explain why – and that’s our lot.

Arsenal (an implacable 4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Vieira; Saka, Nketiah, Jesus. Subs: Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Kiwior, Cedric, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Nelson, Elneny, Havertz.

Tottenham Hotspur (an implacable 4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson. Subs: Forster, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Richarlison, Royal, Dier, Solomon, Davies, Veliz.

Referee: Rob Jones

There are few pursuits more partisan than football, one of the game’s rare beauties the way it allows us to abandon our dignity and integrity to safely indulge some of our worst inclinations. My lot: good; everyone else: hateful.

Of course, people being people, this glory has been exploited by some of the least pleasant individuals on the planet, but otherwise, there’s little more affirming than football blindness. In which context, it’s even more remarkable that every non-Spurs fan among us has secretly thought “I wish Ange Postecoglu was manager of my club, mate”.

It’s a strange thing, really, because what arouses football fans is neither complex nor secret, yet Postecoglou is one of very few managers who hit every spot every time. Fair dinkum mate, not everyone has presence and charisma, nor the ability to load every syllable and every pause with meaning and menace – “Alright, enjoy your lunch”, say. But every single manager can grasp what makes football football, appreciate the majestic weight of its total insignificance and act accordingly … yet they don’t.

But it is those who do – consider also Bill Shankly, Jock Stein, Alex Ferguson, Jürgen Klopp, Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman – who envelop their institutions in the warmth of their glow, personifying the values each of them should represent, inspiring players and supporters with a sense of belonging and of mission. It’s powerful, powerful stuff.

As such, it’s no surprise to see how quickly and how totally Postecoglou has transformed Spurs. They were, it’s fair to say, desperate for him – the board spending the early past of the summer chasing various others tells us some of the reasons why – but even so, he has already bought well, discarded well, and implemented a method of play that reflects who he is and who the club think they are.

Arsenal, on the other hand, went for something different. Mikel Arteta is a technocrat, a details man who, to get things going, needed players suited to his precise instructions. Naturally, that took time, but he’s right there now and his fast, attacking youthful team have accomplished the impossible: transforming Emirates Stadium into Football Ground.

Which is great – as Spurs fans can attest, there’s a lot of fun to be had with a likeable manager and team, even if you don’t win the big pots. However, as Spurs fans can also attest, until you win the big pots no one else is remotely exercised and, while – whoever we support – we can convince ourselves we don’t care that no one cares, we also know it’s nonsense. In the world of elite football, if you can’t lord it over anyone, you’re nothing.

Today, then, is a colossal occasion. In and of itself, it’s a derby, but more than that, it’s a derby that rarely disappoints and is now bossed by two managers committed to aggression whose clubs both feel better about themselves than for decades. This is going to be a buzz, mates.

Kick-off: 2pm BST