Infograph: Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur preview

Andreas Villas-Boas (L), Arsene Wenger

If anyone is betting on Arsenal winning the League this year or even putting up a half decent title challenge, well, they might as well burn their money after stacking it up. Remember that scene from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, where the Joker burn’s up the mob’s money, yeah? Just like that.

This is just another North London derby and it’s probably becoming one of my least favourite fixtures in the season, mainly due to the cockiness of the Arsenal boo-brigade who take this up as an opportunity to point out, how the team from White Hart Lane are clawing their way up to Arsenal’s steady hold over one of the Champions League spots.

Talking about the teams this season, Spurs seem to be on their way to become the biggest spenders in the Premier League this season, after having spent even more than what Chelsea usually do in a single season. Make no mistake that Spurs have afforded themselves in the ‘exclusive’, big spenders club, as it is highly likely that this deficit caused by this spree, will be balanced by the eventual income from the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record sum, which is expected to be a close to a 100 million pounds.

As we stare at Sunday’s derby at the Emirates, both teams are heavily unmatched, with Spurs looking to be stronger than Arsenal in every area, but on paper only. Tottenham will field a side that will be imposing but massively unsettled.

On the other hand, Arsenal have managed to retain the crux of their team, which went on a 12-game unbeaten spree towards the end of last season that saw the Gunners take the fourth Champions League spot.

While Spurs had a problem with their midfield last season after their so-called ace, Sandro, picked up an injury, and also the lack of a consistent striker up-front meant they had to heavily rely upon the abilities of Gareth Bale to keep them in pace with Chelsea and Arsenal for a Champions League spot.

A team that was fighting for a second or third place finish by December, eventually had to settle for fifth, a point adrift of their most hated rivals.

During the off season, Spurs have breathed new life into their squad and have massively overhauled the midfield with the likes of Nacer Chadli, Paulinho and Etiene Capoue coming in.

To add to their forces upfront, Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor will be joined by Roberto Soldado, who moved to London from Valencia. In the meanwhile, the team have also announced the signings of Erik Lamela from Roma and Christian Eriksen have also been confirmed this week.

On paper, this is the best Spurs team in years and can hold their fort against any Premier League opposition.

Arsenal on the other hand, have added young French striker Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre, who has looked slightly off-colour in his substitution appearances against Fulham and Fenerbahce.

The only other player to join the ranks at the Emirates is former midfielder, Mathieu Flamini, who will most likely make it directly to the squad. Flamini, 29, is a versatile midfielder who can also be deployed as a full back. In Arteta’s absence, the Frenchman could deputize alongside Aaron Ramsey as a holding midfielder.

Below is an info-graphic serving as a preview for the North London derby.

All the stats for this infographic have been sourced from www.squawka.com and www.whoscored.com.

The stats are predominantly based on the home and away performances of the teams in the 2012/13 season.