Arsenal v Tottenham Tip

He may have taken some time to settle in English football but Olivier Giroud now looks the most likely candidate to find the net in the north London derby, particularly if Jermain Defoe isn’t fit. At a best price 2/1 (Ladbrokes) in the anytime goalscorer market, he looks good value.

The upturn in the Frenchman’s form has been largely overshadowed by the many poor performances of the Gunners as a group. But the French international has enjoyed a much better month or so, ever since he fired an equaliser against West Ham at Upton Park on 6 October. He followed that with a crucial strike for his country against Spain that secured a 1-1 draw in injury time.

But most importantly in terms of this bet, the 26-year-old now looks at home in an Arsenal shirt. He came off the bench to score in the remarkable 7-5 victory over Reading and he then notched the Gunners’ second in the Champions League draw in Schalke. But best of all he bagged a brace and looked sharp throughout the 3-3 game with Fulham only last weekend.

There was so nearly a hat-trick for Giroud when he was denied late on by Schwarzer from 30 yards. Of course, after that he could have still claimed the match ball had he been given penalty responsibilities instead of Arteta. But had he been a 3-goal match-winning hero I very much doubt we’d be getting the decent price still on offer now.