EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal warned losing their ‘brain’ Martin Odegaard is a ‘massive’ blow ahead of north London derby as Tottenham legend Rafael van der Vaart claims Spurs can take advantage of injury-hit rivals

Odegaard will miss this weekend's north London derby clash after limping out of Norway's clash with Austria. He has since been ruled out for around three weeks, meaning he is also going to miss Arsenal's first Champions League clash of the season, against Atalanta, as well as the Gunners' league game against Manchester City.

Spurs come into the game on the back of an unremarkable start to the campaign; they have won one, drawn one and lost one of their opening three games, and went into the international break on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle. As a result, Van der Vaart believes the club will be delighted the Gunners are without their captain. They will also be missing Declan Rice, who is suspended.

Van der Vaart told GOAL: “Yeah, (Odegaard being out is) massive. I mean, he's not only the captain but he's scoring goals, he's giving assists, every ball goes to him, he's the brain of the team, and you can always give the ball to him, and he's doing something good with the ball. So I think it's for Spurs, for him, it’s bad of course, but they can be happy that he's injured.”

The former Spurs star, who never lost a north London derby in which he scored, now believes Postecoglou's side can take all three points.

He added: “I have to say that I saw a few games also in the pre-season, and I think they look stable. Of course, they lost against Newcastle, that was a tough one. But when you win at home against Everton, quite easy. So I think they have confidence. And I think that the coach now will be quite happy with his squad, and especially now Arsenal are missing some midfield players, they have a good chance to win."

Rafael van der Vaart was speaking on behalf of BetMGM. Play the new £1million Golden Goals game this season by correctly predicting Premier League scores. BeGambleAware 18+

Spurs play Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. A win for Postecoglou's side would mark their first victory against their north London rivals in five games.