Within days of Bukayo Saka limping off, during a mid-December thrashing of Crystal Palace, Mikel Arteta confirmed he’d undergone hamstring surgery and would be out for more than two months.

The sample size for Arsenal’s record without him is relatively small, given Saka’s lack of injuries in recent seasons, but it’s just two wins in five since the victory at Selhurst.

A player with 13 assists and 9 goals in 24 games this season was always going to be a major miss, especially for a North London derby - Saka has 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 7 appearances against Spurs.

Ethan Nwaneri was filling in superbly in Saka’s place, starting back-to-back Premier League games at Brentford (a 3-1 win) and Brighton (a 1-1 draw), the latter of which he opened the scoring in.

However, by half-time at the AMEX, the 17-year-old was taken off with a groin strain.

His replacement, Gabriel Martinelli, had actually started the Ipswich home game back on 27 December on the right wing, a game which ended 1-0.

Leandro Trossard took up the role against Newcastle, while Gabriel Jesus did likewise against United on Sunday.

However, the Brazilian went off with a nasty looking knee injury meaning perhaps a chance for his substitute replacement, Raheem Sterling.

Arsenal’s wastefulness has come into focus after a run of three games without victory, along with the inevitable discussion about whether they need to sign a striker.

Kai Havertz was in the spotlight after missing big opportunities on Sunday, playing at centre-forward, while Martin Odegaard was denied from the spot.

Bizarrely, their xG in each of their last two games was 3.22, meaning they only have one goal to show for a total xG value of 6.44.

It suggests they are still working opportunities, just not taking them, with Odegaard creating 10 chances in the FA Cup third round defeat alone.

Arsenal came to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in mid-September missing Declan Rice and Odegaard, meaning Jorginho and Thomas Partey played in central midfield in a compact 4-4-2.

Off the ball, The Gunners sank deep and allowed Ange Postecoglou’s side to have the ball - 63.7% of possession to be precise.

15 shots to Arsenal’s 7 suggests domination, but the total quality of chance created was pretty equal  for the two teams.

The Gunners’ struck from a corner, their speciality, as Gabriel scored one of 10 Arsenal Premier League goals from set-pieces this season - a stat they top.

“We switched off for a set-piece, and you pay the price,” admitted the Spurs head coach after.

Declan Rice’s in-swinging deliveries are another new test for goalkeeper Toni Kinsky.

In that game, Ange Postecoglou used both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in midfield, and it’s not impossible he does likewise tonight.

Maddison was the one to drop deeper alongside Rodrigo Bentancur that day, when play congested around Arsenal’s penalty area.

Away from home, perhaps there will be more of a threat on the break about Spurs, with Postecoglou’s side ranking top for goals from counter-attacks this season (10).

Despite being needed at Tamworth, Kulusevski and Heung-Min Son only played half an hour, while Dominic Solanke got through 51 minutes.

All three could come in to form a refreshed attack, while Mikey Moore showed in the second half on Sunday just what he can bring upon his return and, good news, Richarlison is back in the frame for the first time since early November.

Firepower is needed, as, with just 18 goals against, Arsenal’s have the Premier League’s meanest defence.