The stakes for the upcoming North London derby have rarely been this high or this lopsided. For Igor Tudor, the newly appointed manager at Tottenham Hotspur, Sunday’s clash against Arsenal isn’t just a traditional rivalry; it is a high-stakes rescue mission.
Spurs find themselves in the uncomfortable position of being only five points clear of the relegation zone. Every decision Tudor makes with his starting lineup will be scrutinized, as the club hasn’t managed a league victory against the Gunners since May 2022.
With the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium expected to be electric and tense, Tudor appears ready to make a bold tactical move by placing his trust in Randal Kolo Muani to lead the charge.
Kolo Muani’s journey in London has been anything but smooth. After arriving on a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, the French forward has struggled to find his rhythm in the Premier League. While he has shown flashes of his undeniable talent in Champions League fixtures, he remains without a goal in top-flight domestic action.
The lack of production led to significant interest from Italian clubs like Juventus and Torino during the winter transfer window. However, Tottenham’s mounting injury crisis forced the club to keep him in the squad. This decision might now pay dividends, as Tudor and Kolo Muani have a pre-existing professional relationship from their time together at Juventus last season.
Tudor knows exactly what the 27-year-old is capable of when used correctly, and with Wilson Odobert sidelined with an injury, the right-wing spot is essentially Kolo Muani’s to lose.
The challenge for Tudor is that his hands are largely tied when it comes to squad selection. The team that fell 2-1 to Newcastle earlier this month didn’t have many options then, and they have even fewer now.
Beyond the forced inclusion of Kolo Muani on the flank, the rest of the lineup is expected to remain largely the same, mostly because there simply aren’t enough fit or available senior players to rotate. This lack of depth is particularly glaring in the heart of the defense.
The absence of Cristian Romero continues to haunt the backline. The captain is still serving a four-match suspension following his red card against Manchester United, leaving a massive void in leadership and aggression.
This means Radu Dragusin must once again step up to partner Micky van de Ven. Dragusin’s tenure at Spurs has been difficult; he arrived from Genoa with high hopes in early 2024 but has found himself buried as the fourth-choice center-back behind Romero, Van de Ven, and Kevin Danso. A lack of match fitness even scuppered a potential winter move to Roma.
Dragusin’s recent performances have done little to quiet the doubters. When he started against Manchester City on February 1—his first start in over a year—he looked visibly overwhelmed by the pace and movement of elite opposition.
Against Arsenal, he won’t have any time to settle into the game. He will be facing the likes of Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres, attackers who thrive on punishing even the slightest lapse in concentration. If Dragusin cannot find a way to stabilize his game and communicate effectively with Van de Ven, Tottenham faces the grim prospect of a fourth consecutive home defeat to their fiercest rivals.
| Projected Tottenham Defensive Pairing | Key Attribute | Recent Challenge |
| Micky van de Ven | Elite recovery pace | Needs to cover for partner’s positioning |
| Radu Dragusin | Physical aerial presence | Lacking match sharpness and confidence |
For Tudor, the game plan has to be about more than just surviving the ninety minutes. He needs to lay down a marker that proves this squad still has the fight required to stay in the division.
Starting Kolo Muani is a signal that he wants to be proactive rather than reactive. By utilizing the Frenchman’s speed and Tudor’s knowledge of his strengths, Spurs might find a way to exploit the spaces Arsenal leaves behind when they push forward.
However, the margin for error is non-existent. A loss on Sunday wouldn’t just be a blow to the fans’ pride; it would drag the club deeper into a relegation scrap that few imagined possible at the start of the campaign. Tudor is essentially asking players who have struggled for form or fitness to deliver the performance of their lives.
Whether Kolo Muani can finally break his league duck or Dragusin can stand tall against Saka will likely decide the fate of North London for the next several months. Tudor is gambling on familiar faces and raw necessity, hoping that the pressure of the derby brings out the best in a squad that has recently looked at its worst.
