Chelsea legend and pundit John Obi Mikel has made a bold prediction for the Sunday North London derby encounter between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal will travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon to take on their rivals, a fixture they won 3-2 last season during the title run-in.
The two sides are separated by three points on the table after three games, with the Gunners winning two and drawing one, while Tottenham won, drawn and lost one.
Mikel predicts Tottenham vs Arsenal
On his Obi One Podcast’s weekly prediction of top matches, Mikel Obi shared his thoughts on the Premier League weekend, notably the big North London derby.
He predicted a win for Fulham in the London derby against West Ham and booked his former club, Chelsea, to beat AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
“The big one on Sunday, Spurs v Arsenal, without Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, I think Arsenal will struggle, so I'm going with a Spurs win,” he said.
£105 million midfielder Rice will miss the match after he was sent off in the 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion, and the club lost their appeal of the red card.
According to Evening Standard, Captain Odegaard is expected to miss the game due to an ankle injury picked up while playing for Norway, even though Mikel Arteta has not ruled him out.
“We need some more tests. Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. Let’s see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back,” Arteta said during his press conference.
Thomas Partey and Jorginho are expected to start in midfield, with new signing Mike Merino also out due to a shoulder injury suffered during his first training.
