Another feisty London derby

Gunners, currently leading the League table, take on Spurs in a crucial encounter

LONDON: This might be the season for festive cheer, but expect little goodwill in Saturday’s 156th north London derby.

Meetings between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are never less than feisty and it will not just be the English winter which provides snap at the Emirates stadium, especially with the Premier League title race reaching a potentially decisive period.

The Gunners’ hopes of reclaiming their domestic crown after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus could well rest on their record over the crowded Christmas schedule.

In addition to a meeting with the old enemy, Arsenal face taxing journeys to Portsmouth and Everton — both contenders for a top-six finish - and a local tussle with West Ham, the one club to have beaten Arsene Wenger’s side at their new stadium.