The season’s second North London Derby was set to take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday but was called off due to Arsenal not having enough fit players available to field against their rivals.
Arsenal requested the game be postponed following their 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup last week. Granit Xhaka was shown a straight red card early on, which meant he would have been unavailable for the game on Sunday. Meanwhile, both Bukayo Saka and Cedric were forced to be subbed off due to apparent injuries.
This, along with the other absentees due to COVID-19 and injuries, as well as having three players away at the Africa Cup on Nations forced the Gunners to request for a postponement, which the Premier League granted.
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson criticized the decision to postpone the game. He told Sky Sports:
The Gunners host Liverpool on Thursday in the second-leg of the semi-final of the Carabao Cup. Mikel Arteta will hope that home advantage will play a huge role in helping his side progress to the final of the competition.
“I did fancy Arsenal to win” - Merson on North London Derby
Paul Merson also gave his opinion on how he thought the North London Derby would’ve gone if the game hadn’t been postponed. He explained:
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