The North London derby clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal is one of the highlights of the Premier League calendar, writes RICHARD BROWN.

On this occasion, the bitter age-old rivalry is even more amplified, as there is more than just bragging rights up for grabs – the quest for top four hangs in the balance.

So, how will the old foes arm themselves for battle?

For many Arsenal and Spurs supporters the two Premier League matches they look forward to most each season are the North London derbies. It’s nearly always a ferocious, high-scoring encounter, and even neutrals often find joy in seeing the old enemies go toe to toe.

For the last 10 years there has been much talk of a power shift in North London, but in reality Spurs have only finished above Arsenal once in the past decade, and only three times since the inaugural season of the Premier League in 1992.

It can be argued that Tottenham have been the better side over the past two seasons, even if they have little to show for it in terms of honours or silverware. Last season they ran champions Chelsea the closest and finished second, and the season before they were the only club to give Leicester City any semblance of a title race, even if they did somehow manage to finish third in that particular two-horse race (behind Arsenal).

Mauricio Pochettino has built an exciting side with hungry young players who play wonderful attacking football in a high-intensity pressing system that complements the team’s strengths. They may not have world beaters in their team (apart from Harry Kane, and perhaps Christian Eriksen), but Pochettino has managed that rare trick of getting the whole to function greater than the sum of its parts. Whereas Arsene Wenger’s last few Arsenal iterations have stumbled from peak to marvellous inconsistency – in fact, the Gunners’ inconsistency has become rather consistent.

But history and form matter little when the Gunners and Spurs step out onto the field. It’s blood and thunder from first minute to last, and a loss is the bitterest of pills to swallow for players and fans of either side.

Let’s have a look at how the two sides might set up.

Spurs

Playing at ‘home’, Spurs will have the home-crowd advantage, but Wembley won’t hold the same intimidation for an Arsenal side that has been very successful at Spurs’ temporary ground, with three FA Cup final victories in the past four seasons. However, Spurs have also truly put paid to the silly ‘Wembley curse’ myth that plagued them at the start of the season – they’ve beaten the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United at home this season.

In the reverse fixture at the Emirates where the Gunners ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, Tottenham played a back three with Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and Jan Vertonghen. Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies served as wingbacks, with Moussa Sissoko as the lone holding player, Mousa Dembele and Eriksen brought up the midfield, while Kane and Dele Alli essentially played as two strikers. Arsenal’s back three kept Kane and Alli quiet, while the Tottenham back three were run ragged by Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette. Arsenal’s wingbacks in Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac were the ultimate difference as they completely overpowered their opposite numbers in Davies and Trippier and played much higher up the pitch, creating overlaps for their attackers. Pochettino was exasperated to the point of hooking his star forwards Kane and Alli as early as the 75th minute and replacing them with Fernando Llorente and Heung-Min Son, but to little effect.

Pochettino is sure to change his tactics for the Wembley clash, though, and will probably opt for the 4-2-3-1 formation that has proved so successful since the last North London derby. With Hugo Lloris in goal, Vertonghen and Sanchez will bring up the rear, Davies and Trippier will start at wingback, Dembele and Dier will form the midfield base, Alli will orchestrate from his favoured No 10 role, while Eriksen and Son will provide width, with danger man Kane up top.

The Spurs manager went with a bizarre midfield diamond formation in the first half at Anfield last week, which rendered Alli (who played much too deep) and Eriksen useless and unable to provide any decent service to Kane and Son. But the Argentinian is always quick to recognise a mistake and reverted back to his 4-2-3-1, which saw Spurs dominate much of the second half against Liverpool.

Alli hasn’t had the best season, but the young England international will relish the clash against Arsenal to prove his doubters wrong. And if that front four of Alli, Son, Eriksen and Kane click, as they have done on numerous occasions this season, there are few teams in the world that can stop them – just ask Jose Mourinho.

Arsenal

It will be interesting to see which defensive system the Arsenal manager deploys on Saturday. Will he stick with the back four formation he used in the 5–1 demolishing of Everton a week ago, or will he revert back to the back three that nullified the Tottenham attack so effectively in the reverse fixture?

My feeling is he’ll stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1 system: With Petr Cech possibly out with a calf strain, David Ospina will take up the gloves, Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi will play at centre-half, Nacho Monreal (if he’s fit enough) and Bellerin will take up fullback duties, the embattled Granit Xhaka and either Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere will start in central midfield, while that devastating front four of Alex Iwobi, Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang will try and repeat their delicious combination play of last week.

Wilshere’s stunning form this season warrants a starting a berth, but Ramsey’s hat-trick last week and his unerring ability to get into good positions in the box, as well as his good combination play with the new-look Arsenal attack may give Wenger a selection headache. Whatever his selection in midfield, Wenger will be hoping that Ozil produces another masterclass and that Mkhitaryan shows up with the same hunger he displayed against the Toffees.

Kolasinac had a very promising start to the campaign, culminating in that stellar performance he put in against Spurs at the Emirates, but since suffering a minor hip injury the Bosnian has found it tough going. His pass completion stats have been disastrous and he tends to switch off defensively, so the Arsenal manager will be hoping Monreal is fully fit on Saturday, or else he might have to play Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a very promising but largely inexperienced young player.

All in all, it makes for a mouthwatering clash, and right now it’s hard to pick a favourite. Tottenham, playing at home, will be the safe bet at the bookies, but Arsenal’s shiny new attack can hardly be written off. The Gunners are currently five points behind the top four and four behind Tottenham, so an Arsenal win will put them right back in the mix for a Champions League berth – as if there was any extra motivation needed for a North London derby.

Photo: Andy Rain/EPA