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Ian Wright names four Arsenal players who should start in the north London derby

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Arsenal legend Ian Wright has suggested that manager Unai Emery should ditch the midfield diamond from the previous game and go with an attack-minded approach for Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Gunners started the season with back-to-back league triumphs over Newcastle United and Burnley respectively but the run was halted during the previous weekend where they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

As such, Wright was genuinely frustrated with Emery’s decision to go with a midfield diamond and believes the tactic worked in the favour of the Reds, who were able to see more possession of the ball throughout the league encounter.

He told on his official Youtube channel: “A lot of people have talked about what I said about the diamond, and how I thought it gave Liverpool the impetus, and that’s just my opinion. I thought it surrendered possession to a team that work very well in those areas of the field.”

Meanwhile, the Gunners bagged the consolation goal at Anfield when Lucas Torreira and Alexandre Lacazette were both brought on from the bench and Wright feels the duo should feature with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe from the starting XI against Spurs.

“Whatever we say, our two chances that were made, apart from the goal [Lucas] Torreira scored, were when we had [Alexandre] Lacazette, [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang, [Nicolas] Pepe and Torreira on the pitch. We made a goal, it might have been a consolation but…You just want your best players on the pitch,” he added.

Torreira has come off the bench in each of the past two league games and on each occasion, he has produced a positive performance and scored the Gunners’ consolation goal at Anfield.

While Granit Xhaka remains a genuine starter, the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and Joe Willock have been preferred ahead of Torreira in the centre of the park during the early phase of the campaign.

Torreira had one of his best-ever games for the Gunners during the 4-2 derby win over Spurs last season, where he found the net, and it remains to be seen whether Emery decides to reward him with a starting role on Sunday.

Lacazette, on the other hand, was only handed a 10-minute cameo at Merseyside last weekend and that came as a surprise, considering he scored a fine goal during the 2-1 win over Burnley previously.

Emery has suggested that he has been cautious with Lacazette following his minor ankle problem in pre-season but also admitted that the signs are very positive with regards to the Frenchman’s fitness ahead of the derby.

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