Arsenal v Tottenham: Premier League – live!

37 min: Cedric hits the post! Arsenal have hit the woodwork twice now. Smith Rowe beat Doherty again and cut the ball back towards Lacazette at the near post. He dummied the ball, which looked inexplicable as he was six yards from goal, but then Cedric appeared from nowhere to thump a shot off the outside of the post. I’m almost certain Lacazette wasn’t dummying it for Cedric, not that it would have mattered had he scored.

35 min Lamela has form for scoring with a rabona. Today’s was slightly different, struck all along the ground, but it had the same audacious brilliance.

Bale drove a high, hanging cross to Reguilon on the far side of the box. He cushioned a volley into Lucas Moura, who squared the ball to Lamela. He was 12 yards from goal, with at least two defenders between him and the goal, and out of nothing he produced a well-struck rabona that went through the legs of Partey and sneaked into the far corner.

Erik Lamela kicks Arsenal where it hurts, scoring with a sensational rabona!

31 min Lamela has a little kick at David Luiz off the ball. Apparently he did the same to Xhaka when they had their contretemps a moment ago.

30 min “The feed I’m watching just lingered for a few seconds on Aubameyang,” says Peter Oh. “I tried to read his reaction to being left on the bench, but it was evident he was masking his feelings.”

Honk!

28 min Lamela and Xhaka exchange shoves over nothing. Mike Oliver tells them to stop acting the goat, and the game goes on.

27 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon Frank. “May I just point out the commentator on my dodgy feed just described Ndombele ‘trying to ride the challenge of Odegaard, and failing in that regard’?”

You’ve got to love cringeworthy lines that have clearly been produced before the game. John Motson has some belters in his pomp.

26 min Smith Rowe forces his way past Doherty, gets to the byline and cuts the ball back towards Lacazette, who slices a first-time shot across goal and out for a throw-in. That was a chance, albeit a sharp one.

25 min I can’t remember Harry Kane touching the ball. It’s not a nice question to ask about such a legend, but you have to wonder whether Harry Kane has taken Harry Kane as far as he can.

24 min It’s now being reported that, as we suspected, Aubameyang was left out because he was late today.

24 min Partey sprays well wide from distance. Jose Mourinho would doubtless point out that, for all Arsenal’s dominance, Hugo Lloris’s gloves are clean.

22 min Lamela has gone into the No10 position, since you asked, with Lucas Moura moving to the left.

21 min Spurs have had more of the game in the last 10 minutes – their possession is up from 25 per cent to 30.

20 min “The manager must have woken up on the wrong side of bed; no sane Gunner can make sense of his line-up today!” writes Dennis in Uganda. “How can he start rookie Smith with his lack of match fitness and leave out on-fire Pepe? Why self-destruct by playing Luiz and Gabriel together? Surely the composure of either Holding or Mari would have done us just fine. Xhaka has played many games and tends to have a rush of too much blood in crucial contests. He needed a rest and the playmaker Ceballos would have done well in his place. Mourinho must be licking his tongue looking at our lineup! Arsenal 0-3 Spurs. Thanks for letting me vent.”

19 min Son is replaced by Erik Lamela. That’s bad news for Spurs, as you’d expect him to be out for a few weeks. The Carabao Cup final is on 25 April.

18 min “Surely the main debating point in this derby clash is which minute Kane will score his first goal,” says Duncan Edwards. “The 35th looks good to me, as do the 49th and 53rd.”

17 min A big blow for Spurs: it looks like Son has pulled his hamstring.

16 min: Smith Rowe hits the bar! What a gorgeous effort from a fine young player. He was found in a bit of space, 25 yards from goal, and rolled his studs over the ball before smacking a fierce shot across goal. It whistled past the flying Lloris and clattered off the bar.

14 min Lloris comes out of hias area to intercept a through ball, then gets in a bit of a tangle and has to tackle Odegaard 40 yards from goal. Happily for him, the ball doesn’t run straight to an Arsenal player, and Lloris is back in his goal by the time Xhaka shoots over from distance.

10 min Thomas Partey fires a superb pass into Saka, who tries to drag the ball away from the last man Alderweireld on the edge of the area. He stumbles in doing so and that gives Alderweireld ample time to clear.

8 min Spurs enjoy their first spell of possession. Eventually Bale flicks a cross with the outside of the foot that is claimed by Leno.

5 min Lacazette has a long-range shot blocked by Ndombele, and then Tierney belts a low cross that flashes across the area.

4 min Odegaard’s free-kick is headed away by Sanchez, who also uses his noggin to clear David Luiz’s follow-up cross.

3 min Lots of early possession for Arsenal, albeit in front of the Spurs defence. Lacazette nutmegs Sanchez 30 yards from goal and is fouled.

“A mystery,” says Charles Antaki. “Is this a masterstroke of kindly pre-game misdirection action by Arteta – making sure that any loss to Spurs will be blamed on the absence of Aubameyang, so shifting attention from the usual hapless suspects?”

“Interesting match,” says Jason Graff, “between a manager who will never be loved no matter his successes and another of whom you could say the opposite.”

Here’s Jose Mourinho

“I don’t think form matters with the emotion of a derby. It is a positive moment for both sides, so let’s hope for a good game. Without fans, maybe you don’t feel the rivalry as deeply. I believe we just have to look at the table – we look up, they are doing the same, I don’t think they are looking down.

“[Is Harry Kane 100 per cent?] Think so, think so. [Are you surprised Aubameyang isn’t playing?] No, not at all. They won at Leicester with Lacazette; they have very good players.”

That would explain it department

Arteta didn’t specify what Aubameyang has done, though Freddie Ljungberg says he thinks it could be that he turned up late for the game.

Harry Kane is fit to start, but Arsenal have left Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Leno; Cedric, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Lacazette.
Substitutes: Ryan, Bellerin, Holding, Chambers, Ceballos, Elneny, Willian, Aubameyang, Pepe.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Bale, Lucas Moura, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Hart, Aurier, Davies, Winks, Lamela, Dier, Sissoko, Alli, Vinicius.

Referee Michael Oliver.

Hello. Jose Mourinho was hired by Spurs to win trophies – actual ones, that need a bit of soapy water and Brasso from time to time. But just for today, a metaphorical trophy would do nicely. If Spurs win at the Emirates this afternoon they will complete a league double over Arsenal for the first time since 1992-93, and lift the imaginary North London Bragging Rights Cup. It would also increase their chances of winning another metaphorical trophy by finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

Mourinho, who has won both North London derbies since taking over, set the mood with some fruity pre-match comments. Spurs are in good form and he clearly fancies their chances. But the same is true of Arsenal and Mikel Arteta.

In truth, a game like this doesn’t need much of an introduction, and I say that not only as a transparent excuse for the kind of lazy journalism you’ve come to love and expect from the Guardian. Arsenal v Spurs is a fixture that prompts a million memories. It should create a few more this afternoon.

Kick off 4.30pm.