Hello everyone. Welcome to live text commentary of the first north London derby of the season. This has all the ingredients of an absolute cracker.

Arsenal seeing more of the ball, as you'd expect, and they win another free kick 25 yards out as Dembele trips Walcott. Looked harsh to me.

Rosicky wins a free-kick on the edge of the box after Capoue hauled him down. Cazorla whips the free kick over the wall, but Lloris makes a very good flying save to his right.

Arsenal clear Walker's corner comfortably and are enjoying a good spell of possession.

Positive run by Townsend into the Arsenal box resuls in the first corner of the game.

KICK OFF. Tottenham get us underway at a sunny Emirates.

The players are out at the Emirates and we are just five minutes from kick off. Which way will this one go? Tweet me, Michael Da Silva, at @mjdasilva.

Wenger: "I'm expecting a defensive and committed display from Tottenham. Let's hope for a good game, and lots of good offensive play." AVB: "Both teams like to play football, so it promises to be a very good game. There will be chances and should be a very interesting battle."

Some pre-match stats for you: There has been a Tottenham player sent off on each of their last two Premier League visits to The Emirates - 13 of the last 14 league matches between Tottenham and Arsenal have gone over 2.5 goals - There have been 124 goals scored in Premier League meetings between Tottenham and Arsenal; more than any other fixture.

Andre Villas-Boas on a win over Dinamo Tbilisi: "It was great for Sandro, Younes Kaboul, Lewis Holtby, players who we’ve missed for a long time and are picking up form. They have all done extremely well recently. I’m pleased with everyone’s performance, particularly the players who have recently come back from injury.”

Arsene Wenger on Flamini: "I didn’t expect him to be in that mental state and in that physical shape. Our job has a great quality - it is a good teacher of humility. So you always have to be ready to change your mind, and he changed my mind. The ambition is there and he is hugely fit. He can play in different positions and when I saw what kind of mental state and physical shape he was in, it was a no brainer."

The Gareth Bale transfer saga may be edging ever closer to completion, but it still casts a long shadow over Tottenham Hotspur. They will be eager to show there is life after him with a win on their rivals' home turf. But Arsene Wenger will also want to prove he knows best after coming under fire over his lack of signings this summer. Plenty at stake.

Spurs revert to the side that beat Swansea 1-0 at White Hart Lane seven days ago. Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho and Hugo Lloris all start.

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny returns after suspension, with Bacary Sagna forced to settle for a place on the bench. Tomas Rosicky is back for the injured Lukas Podolski and Aaron Ramsey starts, despite picking up an injury against Fenerbahce. Mathieu Flamini is on the bench.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud. Subs: Fabianski, Sagna, Monreal, Flamini, Zelalem, Gnabry, Sanogo. Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose; Capoue, Paulinho; Townsend, Dembele, Chadli; Soldado. Subs: Friedel, Naughton, Holtby, Lamela, Sandro, Sigurdsson, Defoe