'Big sulk' - Ex-Premier League boss makes Mikel Arteta prediction amid Arsenal injuries

Former Premier League boss Sam Allardyce has weighed in on Arsenal’s injury issues ahead of their North London derby with Tottenham on Sunday. The Gunners are without Declan Rice through suspension, while Martin Odegaard appears to be sidelined with an ankle injury he picked up during international duty with Norway.

The Gunners are three points better off than Spurs after three games, but heading across town with a big hole in their midfield, many are backing Spurs to come out on top in the first North London derby of the season. Meanwhile, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be deciding on who he wants to fill those games, with one of Thomas Partey or Jorginho likely to replace Rice, while Leandro Trossard is likely the preferred option for the attacking midfield role. Kai Havertz could also drop into that role providing Gabriel Jesus is back fit after his groin issue.

Weighing in on the decision, former England boss Sam Allardyce said on his No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: “It looks like they're going to play similar systems. I think there's one advantage for Tottenham is that Odegaard and Declan Rice are not going to play, Rice is suspended and Odegaard came off injured during the international break so that leaves Arsenal a little bit lighter than normal there. Partey has obviously been there for a while and done well, they've got an experienced Jorginho so whether it's Havertz who just plays in front there or not, it is going to be the challenge for Arsenal.

“The rest of the Arsenal team is fixed. I think he's going to go with Trossard - he might do it to stop him sulking because he had a big sulk on when he came on and scored, you could see in his face that he wasn't very happy.

“The managers, tactically, are going to have to be astute I think throughout the game and covering what they may need to cover to maybe block off what the opposition's doing for a while, and then create an opportunity to expose or try and expose what they think is a weakness in the opposition's defence. My score is it'll be 2-1 to Arsenal.”

Arsenal to park the bus?

Allardyce has also speculated over Arteta’s approach in big games, accusing the Spanish boss of ‘parking the bus’ in key moments. “I've seen a shift in “Mikel Arteta on the defensive side. I saw him come to Man City last year and put the double-decker [bus] up as old Mourinho would say,” he added. “They parked the bus, and they got the point that they were looking for. 

“He's looked at the entire situation and said if I want to win the league then if I don't lose against the top six, I'm going to have a better chance of winning the league and making sure that we beat everybody else who runs below that. Which in football terms or on paper is supposed to be easy, but it's not always like that otherwise the Premier League would become boring.”