Arsenal keep guard up for clash v Tottenham Hotspur

Arsenal will put their league title challenge on the line Sunday when they visit Tottenham Hotspur, whose fans would love nothing more than to disrupt the aspirations of their arch-rival.

Arsenal (24-5-5, 77 points) will make the short trip across North London after entering the weekend with a one-point lead atop the table over Manchester City, who have a match in hand. Liverpool notched a 2-2 draw with West Ham on Saturday to sit two points back of the Gunners.

Arsenal should have plenty of confidence after consecutive shutout victories at the Wolverhampton Wanderers and home to Chelsea.

Kai Havertz recorded a brace in the latter match, a 5-0 win over the Blues, to become the third Arsenal scorer to reach double digits with 11 league goals.

With a mostly healthy squad, a lack of distraction from European competition after a Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Bayern Munich, and the stakes clear, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants to nullify the added intensity the North London Derby brings.

"We know about the rivalry but I think you have to put that aside, you have to live the game with the intensity and passion that it demands," Arteta said. "On top of that, we know what we are playing for so I don't think we need anything special because the game has got everything that you need as a player to go and enjoy it."

Spurs (18-8-6, 60 points) have had nearly two full weeks to stew over one of their poorest performances of the season, a 4-0 loss at Newcastle United.

With two matches in hand and a six-point gap to make up, the fifth-place Spurs still have an outside chance to catch fourth-place Aston Villa for the final guaranteed Champions League spot in manager Ange Postecoglou's first season.

They enter Sunday's clash on a