It's a nervy time at the Emirates Stadium.
Back-to-back home defeats to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and Man Utd in the FA Cup has seen pressure ramp up on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his ailing squad.
Already bruised by their draw to Brighton in the first league game of the year, the Gunners will now be without a host of first team forwards in the north London derby on Wednesday.
Gabriel Jesus was taken off with an ACL injury against Man Utd and he joins Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri on the sidelines. A struggling Kai Havertz will once again lead the line as they try to close the gap on table-toppers Liverpool, but make no mistake, Arsenal look shattered.
The energy-sapping penalty shoot-out defeat to United on Sunday was far from ideal preparation for one of their biggest games of the season, and this was acknowledged by Arteta who was keen to emphasise the importance of their supporters to create a hostile atmosphere against their fierce rivals midweek.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, the manager brushed aside the impact of injuries in his squad and instead appealed to fans to focus on "something that is in our hands".
"It’s probably the nicest game of the season to watch because of the atmosphere, because of what it means to our people, what it means to us and everybody involved in the game," he said.
"Let’s create the best atmosphere that we have played at the Emirates, that’s our objective. That's something that we control - the players, the staff, and everybody that turns up tomorrow. This is something that we can do, so let's do it."
Despite a gloomy start to the year that has seen Arsenal eliminated from the FA Cup and on the verge of being knocked-out of the Carabao Cup as well as stalling as they chase down Liverpool in the league, Arsenal fans can take solace that history is on their side as they look to kick-start their season.
The Gunners have won 31 of their last 33 home games against Tottenham and are currently enjoying a 13-game unbeaten run against their rivals at home.
It has been 15 years since Spurs last won at the Emirates, but should the Lillywhites take the lead Arsenal fans have reason to remain optimistic: the team who opens the scoring has failed to win more often than any other fixture in the league, with Tottenham failing to do so on 17 separate occasions.
And there’s good news for Martin Odegaard and Harvertz too – the two players who missed penalties for Arsenal on Sunday. There has been 26 penalties awarded in the Premier League fixture and only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has seen his saved for the Gunners.
Stormy clouds will gather should they fail to win, but a depleted Arsenal side should at least feel confident in brushing aside their recent woes to close the gap at the top of the league and once again dent their rivals' ambitions in the process.
There is no better time for redemption.