London (AFP)

The traditional north London derby between Arsenal, riddled in Liverpool on the last day, and Tottenham, in search of stability, already smells like powder, Sunday, the loser risking being dropped from the leading car of the Championship of England .

Unai Emery's Gunners also look forward to reversing the last three favorable seasons for their Spurs rivals who reached their first Champions League final in May and moved to a state-of-the-art 62,000-seat stadium earlier this year. 2000 more than the Emirates.

For now, after three days, Arsenal is best placed in the standings, third with six points three lengths behind leader Liverpool and one of his dolphin Manchester City.

Tottenham, he has only four after his surprising home defeat to Newcastle (1-0). The Spurs had, however, brought a 2-2 draw from their trip to the lair of Citizens. But this result did not reflect at all the physiognomy of the game: the double defending champions had shot at the goal 30 times against ... only three side visitors.

Despite a 3-1 opening win against Aston Villa, the unfortunate finalist in the last Champions League started the season at the same laborious pace as he finished the previous Premier League. The Spurs have taken only 15 points in their last 15 league games, straddling two seasons.

Part of the blame was a frustrating transfer window after 18 months without recruitment, despite the arrival of French international midfielder Tanguy Ndombele (EUR 69m), Ryan Sessegnon (formerly Fulham) and Giovani Lo Celso (Ex-Betis Sevilla) . Especially since the three recruits, injured or short of competition, do not seem to be able to play Sunday.

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And to make matters worse, the future of three players is pending: Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld will leave the club free next summer if they are not transferred by Monday night, the term of the transfer window .

"The situation is difficult for us and the club, but we can only wait," admitted Mauricio Pochettino hoping for a real departure of his men after the international break.

Everything seems, on the contrary, on the bright side of Arsenal despite the slap at Anfield (3-1) and its new non-qualifying for the C1 at the end of last season. Unlike Pochettino, Emery is satisfied with the mercato, since Arsenal has hired Nicolas Pepe for 80 million euros, the club record. And he will be able to align it, for the first time, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

And the trio burns with impatience to enjoy the largesse of Tottenham's defense, as against Aston Villa and Newcastle, especially his left side where Danny Rose and Davinson Sanchez did not show themselves to their advantage. But on the right, it's not much better: Kyle Walker-Peters and Juan Foyth are injured, and the international Kieran Trippier went to Atletico Madrid in July.

Between 1995 and 2016, 21, Arsenal fans used to celebrate 'St Totteringham's Day' in May - the day mathematically Tottenham can not finish in front of their team. Sunday's Gunners' success would increase their chances of returning to this tradition at the end of the season.

© 2019 AFP