Spurs had been considered outsiders for a title challenge until a nightmare week which has seen them lose to Burnley and Chelsea to fall nine points adrift of the leaders.

Things could get even worse on Saturday as they welcome their closest rivals knowing that a third consecutive defeat would leave them just one point above the Gunners - and possibly only two ahead of fifth place.

Here, Sports Mole selects its strongest combined XI from both squads, using only players available this weekend.

It is a damning statistic that Bernd Leno has kept only three clean sheets in the Premier League this season, making Hugo Lloris - who has three times that number - an easy choice for the gloves in this XI.

Spurs also dominate the defence, and that is even without Davinson Sanchez and injury doubt Jan Vertonghen included. Kieran Trippier may have scored a calamitous own goal against Chelsea, but he remains Tottenham's most consistent full-back and the safest bet in North London too.

On the opposite flank, Danny Rose looks to be returning to his best and earns his place in the team ahead of Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal, while Toby Alderweireld has once again been the pick of the Tottenham defenders this season - although the uncertainty over Vertonghen's fitness helped his cause to make the XI.

Laurent Koscielny is also a doubt for this weekend's game, but Unai Emery was hopeful over his fitness and will be desperate for the Frenchman to recover in time following his goalscoring performance against Bournemouth on Wednesday night.

The attacking talent on show means that we have to crowbar a creative midfielder into a more defensive role, with Christian Eriksen serving as the deep-lying playmaker - a position he has played before, albeit not much this season.

With such an attack-minded player in that position we need a defensive destroyer alongside him, and Lucas Torreira fits the bill perfectly. The diminutive Uruguayan shone in the reverse fixture between these two sides and has impressed enough to beat the likes of Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi into this lineup.

Mesut Ozil may have struggled to get into Emery's team on a consistent basis in recent months, but he served a timely reminder of what he is capable of against Bournemouth with a goal and an assist, and that is enough for him to get the number 10 role here - helped by the fact that Dele Alli looks destined to miss out.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was also on fine form against the Cherries, but he still has to play second fiddle to Son Heung-min. The Spurs forward is enjoying arguably his best season in English football and has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet for Mauricio Pochettino's side.

That was particularly true during the absence of Harry Kane, but the England captain is back now and is a sure-fire pick to lead the line, particularly given his phenomenal goalscoring record in the North London derby.

There is strong competition from Arsenal, though, and Alexandre Lacazette is unfortunate not to make the team while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is forced out wide left despite notching his 16th Premier League goal of the season on Wednesday night.