Arsenal have four North London Derby undroppables to unlock Kai Havertz vs Tottenham masterplan

The timing could hardly have been much worse for Arsenal. The moment that Declan Rice was shown a second yellow card for delaying a restart against Brighton, or for nudging the ball away, or for whatever it actually was, everyone knew he would miss the North London Derby.

No appeals are possible for this sort of thing, no VAR intervention for a yellow card either, so all noise and protest was to no benefit. That left Mikel Arteta with just over two weeks to think up a plan for playing without his midfield keystone.

Rice last missed a Premier League match in May 2023. Over the last 12 months, playing without him has been unprecedented for Arteta. That left a big enough hole, especially after Mikel Merino had already been ruled out for almost two months with a shoulder fracture.

Two down, luckily still two to go for Arsenal, who have Thomas Partey and Jorginho for cover. Ageing, less impactful, and undoubtedly slower cover, but cover at least, without upending the rest of the squad.

Martin Odegaard’s injury for Norway just over one week later threw this all in the air again. What had been a firm and clearly defined tactical setup, shape, formation, system, and the rest, was now definitely going to need to change in some form.

Be it a totally different makeup of midfield, shift in design of the player, or wider move away from a 4-3-3, something will be unusual and unwanted about the starting XI. That doesn’t mean that the baby has to go out with the bathwater though.

In Kai Havertz, Arsenal still have a striker with two goals in three, capable of scoring from deep or as the focal point of an attack. Bukayo Saka will definitely be without one part of his usual right-sided triangle, but his relationship with Ben White is strong, and in terms of individual talent there are few that can match the winger.

Whether in their best way or not, Arsenal can still rely on Havertz and Saka to be matchwinners, with both thriving in fierce derby day situations previously. The defence, which has only conceded one goal this season and even that came when down to 10 men, is still as reliable as ever as well.

Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba make a mean partnership that is unbreakable. It will likely take an injury, serious loss of form, or incredible low-key game for either of them not to start. The left-back spot, and left-wing role, is less clear-cut.

Jurrien Timber and Oleksandr Zinchenko have played different roles at full-back, one inverting and the other offering a more mainstream and orthodox interpretation. Arteta has the freedom to experiment here, and can also turn to Riccardo Calafiori as an adventurous ball-progressor on the floor.

Calafiori could play against Tottenham, with Arteta not ruling out an appearance despite injury. “He’s another one where we’ll have to wait another day,” the head coach said ahead of the game.

Given that the Italian is yet to start this season, it would be a surprise to see him get the nod here in such high-pressure circumstances as well. Ahead of Calafiori on the pitch and there is no clear first choice wideman either.

Leandro Trossard once more got the go-ahead after impressing and scoring against Aston Villa but his impact when Brighton came to town was tempered. Gabriel Martinelli has generally had the spot to lose over the past few seasons but there is not a definite selection here as there is elsewhere.

What it leaves Arteta with is a core that is still large and more than good enough to make it three wins out of three against Tottenham since the beginning or last term, but perhaps more than ever, those who are not cemented into their positions are as uncertain as they have been in recent times.