Mikel Arteta is aware of the impact a first victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could have on Arsenal's season ahead of Sunday's huge North London Derby.

Having beaten Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in October, Premier League leaders Arsenal are looking to claim a first league double against their local rivals since the 2013-14 campaign.

That season also represents the last time Arsenal won a North London Derby as the away team, with the Gunners losing on all three visits to Spurs' new home since it opened in 2019. 

With Arsenal looking to go 14 points clear of their rivals and maintain their advantage over Manchester City at the summit, Arteta is embracing the challenge ahead of them.

"We haven't won there, so that's the challenge we have ahead of us, we have to beat them at their place," the Spaniard said at Friday's pre-match press conference.

"We've had a few in the last few years – places where we didn't win in 15 or 20 years. We have a great challenge and opportunity on Sunday to get that one down.

"It's one of the biggest games of the season for us. We know how much it means right now for us in the table, and how much it means for our fans.

"We don't think about sending messages, we think about performing, playing well and earning the right to win the games.

"We know where we are. At Arsenal, we do not have any expectations other than winning games every three days, whoever we play against."

Spurs are looking to win four consecutive home league games against Arsenal for the first time in their history, with last May's 3-0 thrashing of the Gunners proving crucial as they beat their neighbours to Champions League qualification.

Reflecting on that defeat, in which Arsenal capitulated after Rob Holding's first-half dismissal, Arteta challenged the Gunners to showcase their improvement against their out-of-form hosts.

"There were a lot of things to learn and take from it," Arteta said of last season's trip to Spurs. "We are in a different place, but we have to show that by playing the way we want to play.

"Obviously, the way we have performed and the results that we've got, confidence-wise, have put us in a good position, but that's something you have to show in every single match against every opponent.

"Especially every away game brings a big challenge and this is no different. We have to prove we are good enough to go there and play our way to win the match."

Arteta was also asked about the club's pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk – who appeared to hint at his desire to join Arsenal by posting a praying emoji on Instagram as reports suggested the Gunners had tabled another bid on Thursday.

"You know we cannot talk about any other players. There is interest in things we would like to do to improve the team because we are a bit short in certain areas," Arteta said. "As a club, we are determined to improve the team in every window."

Asked if he had taken notice of Mudryk's social media activity, Arteta laughed: "I won't tell you how good I am with a phone!"

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag confirmed Wout Weghorst is close to joining the club but will not sign in time to feature in Saturday's derby.

United have been on the hunt for a new striker ever since Cristiano Ronaldo's acrimonious exit in November, with the Portugal forward having his contract terminated after an explosive interview.

Over the past week or so, Weghorst – who is on loan at Besiktas from Burnley – emerged as a likely candidate to fill the void until the end of the season.

Reports on Thursday suggested United reached an agreement to pay Besiktas £2.5million (€3m) to take over their loan arrangement with Weghorst, who has scored eight Super Lig goals in 16 games this season.

Some supporters have been indifferent about the prospect of signing a player who netted just twice in 20 Premier League games last term as Burnley were relegated, but a deal is seemingly near – just not close enough for him to face Manchester City this weekend.

Speaking to reporters about the rumours on Friday, Ten Hag said: "I think we are close, so he will not be available for tomorrow, no."

But with United unable to get a deal for Weghorst over the line sooner, they could once again see their options at centre-forward limited for the visit of City.

Anthony Martial has been plagued by injuries this season and is struggling with another issue, leaving Ten Hag unsure of his availability for the match.

Asked to provide general fitness updates, the manager added: "[Diogo] Dalot is not available, and Martial trained this morning, so we wait to see how he recovered and if he's available. That will be decided tomorrow.

"It's a small thing, in his leg, so I will be [waiting for] tomorrow, otherwise he'll be available for Wednesday, I think."

United are somewhat stretched in the attacking department, with Martial proving unreliable in terms of fitness and Jadon Sancho still absent after being granted time away to improve his mental sharpness.

But Ten Hag is not panicking, pointing out United have done well without Martial and Weghorst in recent weeks.

"Weghorst wasn't available in the last weeks, so it would be a bonus if he was [able to face City]," Ten Hag said. "I hope soon he will be there.

"But also we have had a month of winning a lot of games without Anthony Martial."

United welcome City to Old Trafford looking to avenge a 6-3 defeat in October. Victory for the Red Devils will see them move to within a point of the champions.

Trent Alexander-Arnold feels underperforming Liverpool are expected to be "immaculate" after enjoying such a successful spell under manager Jurgen Klopp.

Since Klopp's arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2015, Liverpool have lifted both the Premier League and Champions League, while also winning two domestic cup competitions.

Klopp's side finished runners-up in both the Champions League and Premier League last season, finishing just a point behind Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the latter having taken the title race to the final day of the campaign.

However, Liverpool have not been at their normal levels this term and sit 16 points behind league leaders Arsenal, while they will have to overturn a seven-point deficit to fourth-placed rivals Manchester United if they are to finish in the Champions League qualification spots.

Alexander-Arnold believes Liverpool have raised the bar for themselves to a level that fans now expect constant success, telling Sky Sports: "There's a level of expectation now. It's almost like being a victim of your own success.

"People expect us to be immaculate every season and we're not allowed to have off seasons. There's a level of consistency that's demanded and we demand that from ourselves as well.

"It's a season that we've not been overly happy with, but there's still a long time left. 

"We would like to be higher up the table, pushing for the title, but at the same time we are in a position to go and challenge for Champions League football.

"There will come a time when things click into place and we'll be back to where we were and where we have been. When that happens, then everyone will be happy. It's just a matter of time."

A key part of Liverpool's recent glory was Sadio Mane, who joined from Southampton in 2016 before going on to score 120 goals in 269 appearances in all competitions for the Reds.

Mane departed for Bayern Munich prior to this season, and replacement Darwin Nunez has endured a mixed start to his Anfield career after signing for a club-record £85million fee.

While Alexander-Arnold acknowledged Liverpool are missing Mane, he also defended Nunez, who has come under fire after a number of missed gilt-edged opportunities in the early days of his Premier League career.

"Sadio is a world-class player and has been for many years," the right-back said. "He's someone who will help any team he's at and do the things he does to a level that others can't, so of course we are going to miss what he brings to the team.

"But we've got other players with different qualities who bring different things to our game who will help us in what we need to do.

"[Nunez] is a player who I think it's easy to just write him off, it's easy to say he's not scoring goals. But he's getting himself into areas and places where he's able to hurt the opposition. We have faith that the goals will start coming."

Pep Guardiola feared a Manchester City performance of the like they delivered in losing to Southampton was coming this season after years of success, and he is now calling on his team to "recover who you are".

City exited the EFL Cup, a competition they have won four times under Guardiola, with a 2-0 defeat at St Mary's Stadium on Wednesday.

That quarter-final elimination was concerning beyond simply the result, however, as Guardiola's side failed to record a shot on target for the first time in almost five years.

City have little time to recover as they face rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday. Guardiola said his team had gone through "normal preparation for the next game" despite his concerns at what he saw against Southampton, but he had a response when it was suggested fans might be concerned by Ilkay Gundogan's post-match comments.

Gundogan, the City captain, suggested they were missing "a special recipe" as "the desire and hunger is maybe not as it was in recent years".

"City fans cannot complain about what this team is able to do, has done and will do," Guardiola said in a press conference on Friday.

"We cannot talk on behalf of the City fans, because there are millions; I don't know what every single City fan thinks.

"Saying that, what happened didn't surprise me. We tried to avoid it. It happened, unfortunately.

"Hopefully it's not going to happen again, but it's happened because we've done four Premier Leagues in five years. Sometimes you have to reset.

"This competition, the [EFL] Cup, showed me exactly in terms of consistency that we were able to do it. This was our strength as a team, as a club in the previous seasons. After back-to-back two times, this could happen.

"It's normal it happens. We were not ready to go there and be ourselves. I'm not talking about winning the [EFL] Cup, I'm not talking about winning games, we must be ourselves, behaves how we have to in every single game.

"Unfortunately, I was a little bit concerned this season that it could happen. Unfortunately, it happened; I don't know if it's going to happen again.

Guardiola is at least confident there will be no repeat against United, adding he was "not concerned at all" about City's desire ahead of the derby.

But the wider implication of what the match might mean for the Premier League title race was not of interest to the City manager.

"After what happened after Southampton, the last thing I'm worried about is titles, these kind of things," he said. "It's to recover who you are game by game."

Jurgen Klopp has demanded Liverpool's players show some "fight" to salvage their season.

Klopp is concerned his players are not winning enough challenges, and he has told them to take responsibility.

Liverpool's tackle success rate in the Premier League has been strong enough, with their 60.73 per cent record ranking them third among all clubs, behind only Arsenal and Everton.

But the record in duels is a different story, and dismal from a Reds perspective. A duel is defined by Opta as a '50-50 contest between two players of opposing sides'.

Only in seven out of 27 games across all competitions has Liverpool's duels success reached 50 per cent this season.

In Premier League games only, Liverpool's duels record heading into the latest round of games was the worst of all teams, with a 47.54 per cent success rate.

Klopp said the only way around the problem was to "win more challenges".

"I cannot win challenges for them," he said. "That's what we are talking about, and it's something we have to do, and that will change a lot.

"It's a basic thing to win challenges, and that's why we're talking a little bit about it.

"We are not the most shiny star because we don't play the football people expect and we expect as well, but we have good moments, and we have to fight through this."

Klopp was adamant Liverpool "have more problems than other teams at this moment", with injuries to key personnel undoubtedly hampering their progress.

They sat seventh in the table going into the weekend, after losing to Brentford in their last league game, with a tricky away game at Brighton and Hove Albion awaiting them on Saturday.

Klopp is sure Liverpowill win football games again", after their sticky start since the season resumed after the World Cup.

Liverpool's EFL Cup defence ended with defeat to Manchester City in December, while hopes of another run to FA Cup glory are hanging by a thread as they face a third-round Molineux replay against Wolves after an Anfield draw.

Klopp said the Brighton game was a "very important game for us for different reasons".

He stressed there are aspects of Liverpool's recent performances "we didn't like" and said there was no danger of underestimating Brighton, a team he feels are "full of confidence" under Roberto De Zerbi's leadership.

The game should mark Mohamed Salah's 300th appearance for an English club, with the Egypt international having to date played 280 games for Liverpool and 19 for Chelsea.

He has proven to be one of Klopp's best signings, and Liverpool hope there is plenty still to come from the 30-year-old, who has blossomed at Anfield after a spell with Roma.

"Oh my god, what a journey," Klopp said. "I would say his dreams and our dreams came true during that period, but it's not over yet.

"Mo is fit, still after all these years, after all these games, and that's important, that he's available pretty much always.

"Sometimes the performance drops here and there, but it doesn't happen too often, so I think it was a perfect match."

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The verdict was delivered at Chester Crown Court on Friday following a six-month trial.

French full-back Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape allegedly committed against four women and a further count of sexual assault alleged to have been committed against a fifth woman.

The jury were unable to were unable to reach an agreement on one further count of rape, and another count of attempted rape.

Mendy had been charged following allegations of attacks on five women between October 2020 and August 2021.

Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie was found not guilty of three counties of rape. Jurors could not reach verdicts on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault against him.

The prosecution will seek a retrial on the counts the jury could not reach verdicts on.

Mendy was suspended by Premier League City champions in August 2021, when he was remanded in custody. The 28-year-old was released from prison last January.

City said in a statement on Friday: "Manchester City FC notes the verdict from Chester Crown Court today, where a jury has found Benjamin Mendy not guilty of seven charges.

"The jury is hung on two charges and the trial is now over.

"Given there are open matters related to this case, the Club is not in a position to comment further at this time."

City boss Pep Guardiola was asked about Mendy at his press conference, which took place shortly after the verdicts.

He said: "The club have made a statement. I'm not allowed to say anything else. Please take the statement like my words."

Graham Potter promised Chelsea are doing what they can to get to the bottom of their injury issues.

Chelsea lost a third successive game on Thursday as they went down 2-1 to Fulham in a west London derby.

Compounding their issues at Craven Cottage, where debutant Joao Felix was sent off, midfielder Denis Zakaria suffered a quad injury.

It means Zakaria joins Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Armando Broja, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, N'Golo Kante, Reece James, Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana on the sidelines.

Ahead of Sunday's clash with Crystal Palace, Potter – who has seen his side lose seven of their last 10 matches – knows Chelsea must find a solution.

"We're looking all the time, going over how it's happening," said Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel in September.

"Sometimes when you come in through the season it's difficult to know how it's happened. It's a bit of bad luck and also learning for us all how we can improve.

"The nature [of the injuries], it's not even a pattern, it's different problems. It's tricky.

"It's not like we’ve been over-training or anything like that. We certainly need to get to the bottom of it though."

Joao Felix's three-match suspension, meanwhile, has dealt another blow.

"Of course, disappointing because he came here to play, he's on loan to play," Potter said.

"You saw his quality when he was on the pitch and to lose him for the three games is a real blow for us. Nothing we can do now, we've just got to deal with it."

Chelsea are rooted in 10th place in the Premier League, and Palace would move level on points with the Blues should they win.

Potter has never won a home game against Palace across his managerial career, drawing one and losing three of four previous such games in charge of Swansea City and Brighton and Hove Albion, though Chelsea did beat the Eagles 2-1 at Selhurst Park under his stewardship earlier this season.

Chelsea have won their last 10 league games against Palace but have lost two of their last three top-flight matches at Stamford Bridge, and Potter knows his team need to get back to their best.

"We have to recover from the disappointment of the [Fulham] game, assess all the players and then we have to try to be positive, take a home game on, another London derby against a team with dangerous players, so we have to be good ourselves," he said.

Potter, meanwhile, confirmed there is no chance that Pulisic, who is set to be out until March due to a knee injury, will leave the club in January.

"No chance," he said. "There's never been any consideration about that anyway but he's a couple of months out.

"He's disappointed, optimistic he can come back quicker than the two months, so it's at that stage where it's fingers crossed for his rehab."

Williams have named James Vowles as their team principal for the 2023 Formula One campaign, prising him from his role as Mercedes' strategy director.

Williams finished bottom of the constructors' championship standings in 2022, the fourth time they have done so in the last five seasons.

That led Jost Capito to step down as team principal after two years at the helm, and Vowles will replace him on February 20 after being released from his contract with Mercedes.

Vowles has been with Mercedes since the team's 2010 inception, helping them win eight consecutive constructors' titles between 2014 and 2021 before they were usurped by Red Bull last year.

"I cannot wait to start with Williams Racing," Vowles told the team's website. "It's an honour to join a team with such an incredibly rich heritage.

"The team is an icon of our sport, one I greatly respect, and I am very much looking forward to the challenge.

"Williams Racing have placed their faith and trust in me, and I will do the same in return. The team has tremendous potential, and our journey together starts in a matter of weeks."

Williams' 2023 car will be launched on February 6, with newcomer Logan Sargeant set to partner Alex Albon in the upcoming campaign.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who previously worked at Williams, backed Vowles to make a success of his new role.

Wolff said: "While we are naturally sad to be saying goodbye to such a capable member of the team, I have no doubts whatsoever that he has all the necessary skills to become a fantastic team principal in Formula One.

"We wish him every success and are delighted that he will take this next step in his career with Williams, a strong technical partner of ours and one that has a place close to my own heart."

Arsenal made it a clean sweep of the Premier League's monthly awards for November and December as captain Martin Odegaard and head coach Mikel Arteta took home the prizes.

Odegaard was voted the league's standout player either side of the World Cup, across the first couple of weeks of November and the final six days of December.

Over that period, the 24-year-old was involved in six goals, split evenly between those he assisted and netted himself.

No Premier League player had a hand in more goals in that time, with Odegaard's form seeing him become the first Arsenal man to be named Player of the Month since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in September 2019.

His form helped the Gunners open a seven-point lead at the Premier League's summit heading into 2023, and he held off competition from compatriot Erling Haaland, Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka, Manchester United pair Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, plus Ben Mee, Joao Palhinha and Kieran Trippier.

Odegaard's boss, Arteta, was unsurprisingly the recipient of the Manager of the Month prize.

During the qualifying period, Arsenal won all four of their league matches to stretch their lead at the top.

It is the second time this season Arteta has won the award, having also claimed it in August, and the fourth time in total since taken over the Gunners in December 2019.

The Basque coach topped a shortlist that also included Brentford's Thomas Frank, Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, and Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool.

Cameron Norrie will get a chance to cap his New Zealand homecoming with a title at the Auckland Open.

The British number one, who spent much of his childhood in New Zealand and Auckland specifically, reached his first ATP Tour-level final in the city in 2019, and has repeated that feat this time out.

Norrie made light work of Jenson Brooksby on Friday, winning 6-3 6-4.

He will face Richard Gasquet, who progressed via walkover due to Constant Lestienne's withdrawal through injury, in Saturday's showdown.

Norrie has won all six of his matches this season, three in Auckland and three at the United Cup, where he beat Rafael Nadal.

"It was an absolute battle with Jenson. A lot of long rallies and I know how well he competes, so it was nice to get it done in straight sets," said Norrie.

"He puts the ball in such awkward parts off the court and I had to come up with a lot of really tough shots on the run and a lot of big passes.

"I was able to serve it out and stay really calm and get over the line, but he's a great player."

At the Adelaide International 2, defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis fell just short of reaching the final again.

He battled back from a set down to force a decider against Roberto Bautista Agut, but it was the Spaniard who prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-3.

Bautista Agut will face Soonwoo Kwon in the final, after the world number 84 defeated Norrie's compatriot Jack Draper 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.

Jurgen Klopp has ruled out a transfer raid to lift Liverpool for a push towards the Champions League places.

The Reds manager became riled by questions on the subject when speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of the trip to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota are sidelined by injury, reducing Klopp's options in attack, and Darwin Nunez could also miss the Brighton game.

Key defender Virgil van Dijk is also out of action, but Klopp dismissed the idea Liverpool could use the January transfer window to solve their problems.

"I don't think so," he said. "My job is to use the boys we have, so that's it. I like the teams we line up, but when we start to change things you see we don't have three, four, five options, and if we have options they are pretty young.

"You cannot solve all problems in a transfer window. In a dreamland you would just buy players now and bring them in, but I don't see that coming."

Liverpool have been linked with the likes of Benfica's Argentina World Cup star Enzo Fernandez, but judging by Klopp's tone there will be no deal materialising there in the near future.

Asked why Liverpool would not be targeting the market for new additions, Klopp said: "What could be the reason? That we have money like crazy, but we don't buy the players even when they are available?

"That's what you think of me after all the years? Why ask the question when the answer lies on the table? I really don't understand that.

"If I sat here and said we have money in the bank, massively, like we don't know what to do with, but the players are out there but nah, we don't do that...

"We have on top of that the problem that in the moment four of our offensive players are injured, strikers.

"So if we buy another one and they come back, and we have seven strikers, we couldn't even put them all on the Champions League list. We'd have to make a decision.

"So it's just not that easy, you cannot solve the problem, especially with injuries.

"Injuries, that's the main, big, big shadow over all of us, because you cannot solve it in the transfer window. Sometimes you have to, but usually you have to get through until the boys come back and then you can use them again.

"The transfer market is for us not in this moment a solution. But if something's out there and someone tells me we can do it, we will do it, but in this specific situation I don't think it will happen."

Liverpool were held 3-3 by Brighton at Anfield in October, in a game that saw Leandro Trossard hit a hat-trick for the Seagulls.

That was early in the reign of Roberto De Zerbi, who replaced Graham Potter as Brighton head coach, and the south-coast club won none of their first five Premier League games under the Italian (D2 L3).

They have won four of their last six under De Zerbi, however, while Liverpool have lost three of their last seven in the league, as many as in their previous 37 games combined (W26 D8).

Klopp's side sit seventh in the table entering the latest round of games, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

A defeat last Monday to Brentford was a jolt for the Reds, who have not begun a calendar year with two league losses in a row since 1993, in the inaugural Premier League campaign, when they were beaten by Aston Villa and Wimbledon.

Klopp said of the trip to the Amex Stadium: "It will be a tough one, but I'm really looking forward to it because we've had a good week [in training] and I hope the players who are available during the week will stay available and be ready for a fight."

Manchester City will attempt to celebrate a landmark game for Pep Guardiola by securing a fourth consecutive win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The eagerly awaited derby will be Guardiola's 500th match as a top-flight manager in an incredible trophy-laden career.

Of more importance for the City boss will be claiming a victory that would leave the champions only two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, who face a derby of their own at Tottenham on Sunday.

The Red Devils were hammered 6-3 when the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium in October, with Guardiola's men having done the double over their fierce rivals last season.

Fourth-placed United are flying under Erik ten Hag, though, and a win over City – who suffered a shock EFL Cup defeat to Southampton on Wednesday – would leave them only a point behind their neighbours.

Stats Perform has used Opta data to preview a huge derby showdown.

Another huge milestone for Pep

Guardiola has long since established himself as one of the best managers in the world, achieving great success with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City.

He took charge of 152 LaLiga games during his Barca tenure, 102 in the Bundesliga with dominant Bayern and this will be his 246th Premier League match as City boss.

Guardiola has won 379 of the 499 top-flight encounters he has overseen, suffered 52 defeats and drawn 68 games. 

With a win percentage rate of 76, he has the most victories and highest win rate - for managers who have taken charge of at least 100 games - of any boss in Europe's big-five leagues since his first top-flight season in 2008-09.

United on a roll

Ten Hag has lifted the gloom and there is more of an air of optimism at Old Trafford, with United having won eight consecutive games in all competitions.

Since and including their win over Liverpool on August 22, no team has earned more Premier League points than United's tally of 35, winning 11 of their 15 games during that time.

The Red Devils have won all three Premier League games since the World Cup without conceding a goal and reached the EFL Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Tuesday.

City to add insult to injury by breaking scoring record?

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks as City put United to the sword just over three months ago.

Guardiola's men could break their record for the number of goals scored against United in a season, which stands at eight established by 5-0 and 3-2 victories way back in the 1954-55 campaign.

The most goals the Red Devils have conceded against an opponent in a Premier League season is nine against Liverpool in 2021-22.

Rashford can do no wrong

Marcus Rashford can do no wrong at the minute, scoring in every game since the World Cup.

He came off the bench to help himself to a late double in the win over Charlton, making it seven goals in six matches since returning from England duty in Qatar.

Rashford, who found the back of the net twice for the Three Lions in the World Cup, has scored 15 times this season for United – who are certainly not missing Cristiano Ronaldo.