‘Going to be close’ – Darrent Bent predicts the North London Derby result

Darren Bent expects it to be a tightly contested affair at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Sunday, backing Arsenal to edge out their North London rivals.

The North London Derby is more important than ever

Even though it is still extremely early days in the season, the game on Sunday already feels like a potentially season-defining one for both Spurs and Arsenal.

With Tottenham having picked up just four points of a possible nine from their first three matches, pressure will mount on Ange Postecoglou if his side loses against the old enemy.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have already dropped two points against Brighton and they know that they cannot afford to drop too many more at this stage of the season if they want to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City for the Premier League title.

While Arsenal will be without some key players, most notably Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Tottenham are also potentially sweating on the fitness of Yves Bissouma (GiveMeSport), while there has been no confirmation yet on the availability of Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven.

Darren Bent predicts the NLD score

Bent expects a lot of goals in this game, insisting that Postecoglou’s men will give his beloved Arsenal side a tough game, but he backed Mikel Arteta’s side to emerge with a 3-2 win.

The pundit said on an Echo of Glory podcast: “I think the first goal will be key. They’re never slow burners these north London derbies. Yes, Arsenal have had a good start with seven points so far, and Spurs have had a mixed start, but good performances.

“They went to St James’ Park, a tough place, and they should’ve won. I think it is going to be close. I really do. I’m going to go 3-2 to Arsenal.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Bent is right in saying that the first goal will be crucial. I believe Van de Ven has to start for Tottenham to have a chance of winning this game. Without his recovery pace, Arsenal will wait for a mistake and really exploit our high line.

The post ‘Going to be close’ – Darrent Bent predicts the North London Derby result appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.