David Seaman thinks that Arsenal will get the better of their north London rivals Tottenham on Saturday but only if they can keep a now confident Harry Kane quiet following his return to form in the week.
Spurs’ talisman scored his side’s second goal in their 2-2 draw with Wolves in the Carabao Cup in the week with a well-taken first-half finish. The Lilywhites went onto win the tie on penalties, securing their place in the fourth round of the competition.
Mikel Arteta’s team also booked their place in the tournament’s next stage after a comfortable 3-0 win over League One side AFC Wimbledon. The win means that the Gunners go into Sunday’s North London Derby full of confidence following three consecutive victories without conceding.
It’s been quite the turn in atmosphere after Arsenal’s horrid start to the season, whereas Spurs’ performances have dipped a little since their early signs of good form.
With that in mind, Seaman thinks that his old side will edge the contest 2-0, but only if they can keep Kane at bay.
“It’s one that we need to win for the fans and it’s tough,” he said, whilst speaking on his Seaman Says podcast, via the Metro.
“My gut is telling me that we’re going to win if I’m being honest. I just feel that we’ve got a little bit of confidence back with the last few results.
“My only worry is that Harry Kane scored in the week and that will give him a lot of confidence back, but I still feel that we’ve got enough now, now that we’ve got our confidence and everyone is back. They’re all clear of injury.
“It will be tight, there’s no doubt about it, and I’m more looking forward to it now because the referees are letting a few more tackles go and there will certainly be a few going in in that game.”
Seaman has also been impressed with the Gunners’ newfound stability at the back.
Gabriel Magalhaes has returned from injury to play an important defensive role, blossoming a new central partnership with £50million signing, Ben White.
“That partnership worked really well didn’t it, looking really good and I think things are settling down now," he added.
“Now we’ve got all our players available, it’s good for Arsenal.
“A win on Sunday would be amazing, it’d be a nice feeling for the fans to give Tottenham [fans] some back because they took a lot when Tottenham were top and we were bottom. And they had the England break so there was two weeks of it!”
