Arsenal vs. Tottenham: How the Gunners Should Line Up in North London Derby

It's that time of year again. Arsenal and Tottenham will face off in one of the most heated rivalries in football: the north London derby.

The Gunners are coming off a week of mixed emotions after finally getting back to winning ways in convincing fashion against Aston Villa and subsequently being knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Southampton.

Tottenham also have a mission of redemption this weekend after losing in bitter fashion to West Brom last weekend. We do not know whether they will be downtrodden or extra motivated to prove themselves, but form tends to be irrelevant in derby matches.

Arsenal should have more players available for this game than they have in recent times, with no new injuries this week due to the resting of several senior players and the abating of their awful luck.

Thus, Arsene Wenger has a plethora of options when considering how to arrange his team in arguably the biggest game of Arsenal's season so far.

Let's look at one potential setup:

via lineupbuilder.com

Wojciech Szczesny is bound to retain his place in goal, despite David Ospina's satisfactory debut in the Southampton game. The Pole has done virtually nothing to make the manager lose confidence in him lately, aside from storming off his line before Borussia Dortmund's second goal.

Calum Chambers will necessarily be given his third start in a week, as Hector Bellerin is the only other cover Arsenal have for the injured Mathieu Debuchy. Chambers should be able to regain his stamina, though, as he is young and exerted less energy in midweek because he played at centre-back.

He started there because Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny were wisely given a full week's rest, which they both need considering they're both carrying little knocks and are unfairly forced to carry the defensive burden every game.

Both are certainly fit enough to start, though, and will need to be in absolutely top form to stop Spurs' often lethal counter-attacks. Mertesacker, in particular, cannot get caught too high up the pitch.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Kieran Gibbs and Mikel Arteta are automatic starters.

The major issue, as always, is who to start in midfield and on the wings. Mesut Ozil redeemed himself in the middle last weekend (no surprise, really), while Aaron Ramsey continues to struggle through an uncharacteristically bad patch of form.

Thus, the German should be handed another start in his best position, while Ramsey should make way for Jack Wilshere, who has been one of the Gunners' best performers in his last few games.

Wilshere has been lively both on and off the ball and always seems to be either hunting for the ball or avidly trying to create something with it. That is a sign he is getting back to his best.

Alexis Sanchez absolutely must provide his usual ceaseless energy on the wing, driving into the box and giving Chambers crucial defensive cover with his numerous tracking runs. He continues to show why he is becoming one of the stars of this Arsenal side.

Santi Cazorla has not started on the left side recently—an odd move from Wenger, considering how much he started him last season. The Spaniard, now very fresh, can add a bit of unpredictability with his snap-shooting and creative eye. He will also be able to interchange with Ozil.

If all these elements in the controversial 4-1-4-1 formation cohere, as they are just starting to show they might be able to do, Arsenal could conceivably soak up the adulation of their home fans following a derby victory.

But, as always seems to happen when the Gunners and Tottenham play, the outcome will likely hinge on each defense's ability to hold firm against free-flowing, counter-attacking football.

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