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Is the new manager bounce a thing?
Is Arsenal bottling the Premier League title a thing?
There is certainly support for the former. Take Michael Carrick’s brilliant start at Old Trafford and Vitor Pereira securing an impressive 3-0 win over Fenerbahce in his first game as the latest Nottingham Forest boss.
If so, this is good news for new Spurs manager Igor Tudor as he looks to make an immediate impact after taking over from Thomas Frank.
As for the latter, the Gunners are playing into the hands of those saying they haven’t got the character to see this title bid through.
Blowing a 2-0 lead at Wolves in midweek means Mikel Arteta’s men have dropped points in five of their eight Premier League games in 2026.
Although Arsenal remain five clear at the top, if Manchester City win all their remaining games, Pep Guardiola’s men will be crowned champions again.
That will sit uncomfortably with everyone at the Emirates given that Arsenal have had opportunities to build a huge lead at the top.
How to watch Tottenham v Arsenal
Tottenham v Arsenal kicks off at 16.30 GMT on Sunday, February 22 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage starting from 16:00.
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.
Tottenham team news
It’s not easy to predict any new manager’s first starting XI but Tudor does have his hands tied by a list of ongoing injuries and suspensions so options are limited.
Skipper Cristian Romero serves the second of his four-match ban while Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, James Maddison, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie are all still on the injured list.
But there is hope that defender Pedro Porro and striker Richarlison will be fit enough to return.
Tudor prefers a 3-4-2-1 system so that’s one obvious tweak we should see.
Tottenham expected line-up
(3-4-2-1) Vicario; Palhinha, Dragusin, Van de Ven; Gray, Gallagher, Sarr, Spece; Kolo Muani, Simons; Solanke.
Arsenal team news
Arteta has a stronger hand to play with fewer players on the treatment table but there are still plenty of decisions to make.
Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick in the first meeting between these sides this season, but may be squeezed out here if Martin Odegaard comes back in.
Up front, the jury remains out on Viktor Gyokeres in big games so Gabriel Jesus may get the central striker’s role although Kai Havertz is pushing for a return too.
Arsenal expected line-up
(4-3-3) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Tottenham v Arsenal stats
– Spurs have lost their last three Premier League home games against Arsenal, as many as they had in their previous 23 (W10 D10). They last lost four in a row against them between 1952 and 1955.
– Arsenal have won six of their last seven Premier League games against Spurs (D1), including each of the last four.
– Tottenham are winless in their last eight Premier League games (D4 L4). They last had a longer run within the same campaign between August and November 2007 (9).
– Tottenham are the only side without a Premier League win so far in 2026. It’s their longest run without a win from the start of a calendar year since 1994 (first 10).
– Since their last league defeat against Spurs in May 2022, Arsenal have lost just one of their 21 away London derby matches in the Premier League (W14 D6), going down 2-1 at Fulham in December 2023.
– New Spurs manager Igor Tudor has won his first match in charge in each of his last five spells at a club, starting with his second spell at Hajduk Split in February 2020 (and with Verona, Marseille, Lazio and Juventus since).
– Eberechi Eze has scored six goals in his last four Premier League appearances against Spurs (including three in two at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium), netting a hat-trick in his first appearance against them for Arsenal in November’s reverse fixture.
– Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has won 41 of his 68 Premier League London derbies as manager, the best win rate (60.3%) of anyone to take charge of at least 20.
Tottenham v Arsenal predictions
Had this been Thomas Frank’s ailing Spurs against Arsenal, taking the 8/13 about a Gunners win would have seemed pretty much a no-brainer.
But if the new manager bounce mentioned earlier seems selective, when it comes to Tudor the evidence is absolutely black and white.
Put him in charge of a new team and he kicks off with a win. It’s happened the last five times he’s been in this position so the Croatian has a proven history of going in and waving a magic wand.
That wand will probably need to have Harry Potter-esque properties here given Arsenal’s recent dominance over Spurs but it’s certainly not beyond the realms that Tottenham can add to the Gunners’ wobbles.
The draw has merit at 3/1 and, with clean sheets unlikely, a scoring draw at 9/2 is worth investing in.
A more adventurous way to get to a draw is by trying to cash in on Arsenal not being able to defend a lead again, which happened in their two latest away games at Brentford and Wolves.
Arsenal to be leading at half-time but the game ending in a draw is a massive 16/1.
