BBC Sport pundit reveals his prediction for Tottenham v Arsenal
Mark Lawrenson looks ahead to Tottenham's crunch home clash against Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday night
Mark Lawrenson is backing Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to play out a 1-1 draw in Thursday night’s north London derby showdown.
Arsenal head into the game knowing that a victory would secure their place in the top four and a spot in the Champions League for next season, while Tottenham are aiming to close the gap back down to their north London rivals.
The Gunners currently sit four points ahead of the Lilywhites with three games left to play after an impressive run of four straight wins on the bounce.
Spurs earned a 1-1 draw away to Liverpool FC at the weekend, while Arsenal sealed a 2-1 home victory against Leeds United.
Tottenham, who have won just one of their last four league games, have a good recent record against the Gunners, with Spurs heading into this clash with an unbeaten record in their last seven home matches against Arsenal.
A win for Arsenal on Thursday night would secure their highest finish in the Premier League since the 2015-16 season, when they finished second.
However, former Liverpool FC and Republic of Ireland star Lawrenson is tipping the game to end all square in a 1-1 draw.
Writing in his column for BBC Sport, Lawrenson said: “I am not really expecting a good match here in the usual sense because it will be played at 100mph but it will be a good one to watch even if the quality is not there.
“Tottenham are the team who have to win, but it is going to be interesting to see how Arsenal approach it. They don’t find it easy to control most games, let alone games like this one where there will be loads of bookings and maybe not much football played.
“I don’t actually think there will be that many goals either, and it is very hard to pick a winner.”
Arsenal were 3-1 winners over Tottenham in the reverse fixture at the end of September, and the Gunners are aiming to do a league double over Spurs for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
