Tottenham Hotspur claimed North London derby bragging rights this afternoon as they recorded a 1-0 win over Arsenal to climb up to third in the Premier League table.
The first half was a tense and tactical affair, but Spurs came flying out of the blocks at the start of the second half and took the lead within four minutes of the restart courtesy of Harry Kane's towering header.
Spurs squandered a host of chances to double their advantage and were almost made to pay late on, but Alexandre Lacazette was similarly wasteful as the hosts held on for the win.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute coverage below.
There is a lot more than just bragging rights up for grabs today, though, with both clubs playing catch-up in the Champions League race and victory significantly improving the chances of either breaking into that top four. These big matches have not disappointed so far this season, and hopefully we will be in for another thriller this afternoon.
Before we take a closer look, though, let's first check out the team news...
Well, there are interesting inclusions and exclusion to speak of for both teams, but we'll start with the hosts who recall a host of big names following their FA Cup win over Newport County in midweek. Indeed, Son Heung-min is the only player to keep his place from that team, with Mauricio Pochettino making 10 changes for what is very nearly a first-choice team.
The most notable absentee is Toby Alderweireld, who returned from injury by playing the full 90 minutes against Newport but is not deemed fit enough for Premier League action just yet.
Kane averages a goal per game in Premier League North London derbies, netting six times in his six such appearances, including four in three outings at home. Indeed, in London derbies overall Kane has a hugely impressive record of 21 goals in 32 games - an average of 0.66 per game.
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Behind them, Dier and Dembele return as the holding midfielders while Davinson Sanchez - who had an unconvincing game at Anfield - continues alongside Vertonghen at the heart of the defence. Indeed, it is an unchanged side from the one which earned such a dramatic point at Anfield.
The winger has pace to burn and Tottenham fans will hope to get their first glimpse of him in a Tottenham shirt this afternoon, but he also has a difficult job on his hands to try to break into the team ahead of the likes of Son, Alli and Eriksen.
It was expected that David Ospina would need to fill in for the veteran shot-stopper, but he has passed a late fitness test and gets the gloves once again this afternoon, ensuring that he maintains his record of starting every league game so far this season.
Mohamed Elneny comes into the side in place of Ramsey - one of two changes made by Arsene Wenger to the side which thrashed Everton last time out with Jack Wilshere also replacing Iwobi.
It was his fellow defender Shkodran Mustafi who opened the scoring in the reverse fixture, although Arsenal will mainly be looking to their new-look attack to hurt Tottenham today, while Mesut Ozil pulls the strings.
The likes of Xhaka and Wilshere will no doubt look to get forward when they can in support of those forward players, but overall it is a relatively defensive midfielder chosen by Wenger.
Mkhitaryan registered three assists on his home debut against Everton last weekend - as many as Alexis Sanchez, the man he replaced in the swap deal, managed in 1507 minutes of action for Arsenal this season.
One of those set up his old Dortmund pal Aubameyang for a debut goal too, and the Gabon international just so happens to boast a good record against Spurs too, netting four times in four previous appearances against them. Another this afternoon will only further endear him to those Arsenal fans.
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Both clubs currently sit outside the top four, although Chelsea's poor start to 2018 has brought them well within Tottenham's reach. Pochettino's side are certainly in the strongest position to replace one of the current top four, and even a draw this afternoon would see them temporarily move fourth, at least until Chelsea face West Brom on Monday night.
Pochettino's side are four points and four places worse off than they were at the same stage of last season, when they sat second - albeit still 10 points off the leaders - but their main goal for the remainder of the campaign is to finish in that top four and victory this afternoon would be a very valuable step towards that.
Pochettino's side are very hard to beat, then, but three of their last five games have ended in draws, which are still important dropped points in the Champions League race. In the Premier League alone Spurs have won three and drawn three of their six games so far in 2018 which, while not being a terrible record, isn't quite enough to have seen them capitalise fully on slip-ups from Liverpool and Chelsea.
The four points they earned from those games is one more than they have managed in five previous games against top-six opposition this season, which should set them up nicely for this showdown with Arsenal.
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Spurs are unbeaten in their last 12 games here across all competitions, winning 10 of those since an EFL Cup defeat to West Ham United in October. That run also includes an ongoing streak of four successive wins without conceding, and another today would not only see them win five on the bounce for the first time at Wembley, but also keep five consecutive home clean sheets for the first time since May 2009.
Indeed, Spurs are unbeaten in 12 Premier League games at Wembley and, including their final season at White Hart Lane, they have lost only one of their last 32 Premier League home games.
This season alone Spurs also boast the second-best defensive record in front of their own fans, and a clean sheet this afternoon would mark three in a row for the first time at Wembley.
Indeed, the Gunners have already won here once this season - on penalties against Chelsea in the Community Shield - and will be back at Wembley again later this month for the EFL Cup final against Manchester City.
Arsenal have now won each of their last nine games at the national stadium, including shootouts, so this will feel almost as much a home to them as it will to Spurs today.
Arsenal have only won one of their last six Premier League outings on the road and have picked up maximum points just three times away from home all season, drawing four and suffering six defeats. Their tally of 13 away points this season would leave them ninth in the table if only away form counted, and it is also their second-lowest tally ever at this stage of a Premier League season.
Indeed, they come into this match off the back of successive away defeats in the Premier League, and could lose three on the bounce for the first time since April 2017 today. Arsenal have only played Bournemouth and Swansea on the road so far this calendar year, but they are still without an away Premier League point in 2018.
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Across all competitions Arsenal are winless in their last five away games, while they have only managed two victories from their last 11, losing five of those.
The 5-1 win over Everton last time out certainly hinted at a new dawn, but this will be a much more revealing test for a side that has only won three of their last nine games across all competitions.
All of that has left the Gunners closer to 19th place than they are to leaders Manchester City and five points worse off than the same stage last season, although a victory here would temporarily move them to within two points of the top four.
This is actually Arsenal's final Premier League game until March 1, with both legs of their Europa League last 32 tie with Ostersunds following thisa North London derby due to their exit from the FA Cup in the third round. Arsenal will then be back here at Wembley for the EFL Cup final on February 25, and then must face Guardiola's side again in the league on March 1.
These derbies are also highly-charged affairs and they rarely disappoint, but it is hard to see past a Tottenham win for me today. Arsenal's win over Everton was encouraging, but their away record cannot be ignored while Tottenham have been very good at Wembley recently.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal
Mustafi opened the scoring in that match before Sanchez added the second just before half time, giving Arsenal their first win in their last seven attempts against Spurs in the Premier League.
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The Gunners shouldn't panic if they fall behind in this match either, as they have rescued 37 points from losing positions against Spurs in the Premier League era - the most by one club against any single opponent in the competition's history.
This will be the first North London derby at the national stadium since April 1993 when the two sides met in an FA Cup semi-final, with Tony Adams getting the only goal of the game on that occasion.
Overall these two have met 194 times in all competitions, with Arsenal leading the win count by 81 to Tottenham's 62.
TOTTENHAM STARTING XI: Lloris; Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Dele, Son; Kane
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Elneny, Xhaka, Wilshere; Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang
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The game began at a good tempo, but it soon developed into a tactical contest rather than the blood-and-thunder nature of a normal North London derby.
Eriksen created the chance with a wicked cross into the box which Kane got on the end of after beating the offside trap. However, Kane seemed to rise too early and send his header over the crossbar.
The overriding narrative of the first half was Tottenham's attack against Arsenal's defence, with the latter holding firm so far.
Spurs will worry that Arsenal can't be as toothless going forward in the next 45 minutes, but should Arsenal begin to show more attacking intent then that could also open up more space at the back which Spurs will be confident of exploiting.
Possession: 58%-42%
Shots: 6-2
Shots on Target: 1-0
Corners: 4-1
Fouls: 6-3
It comes out of nothing much, it is just a brilliant cross and a brilliant header. Davies swings it into the middle and Kane leaps higher than all others inside the penalty area before planting a perfect header into the bottom corner. He always seems to do it in London derbies!
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1-0: @SpursOfficial - @Arsenal :
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) February 10, 2018
Top scorers in #EPL era in North London derbies:
8 - Emmanuel Adebayor
7 - Robert Pires
7 - HARRY KANE#COYS
Spurs missed a host of chances in the second half, when they were rampant against a poor Arsenal side. Harry Kane's towering header proved to be the difference, although Arsenal also nicked a draw at the death through Alexandre Lacazette. That would have been very harsh on Spurs, though, and in the end they fully deserved all three points.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's early kickoff at Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal in the North London derby to climb up to third in the Premier League table. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. Coverage of the 3pm matches is also underway, so check out the site for even more live action.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!