Tottenham have received a boost ahead of the North London derby as Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey has withdrawn from Wales’ upcoming friendly.
The Wales FA revealed on its official Twitter account on Sunday afternoon that the 26-year-old had been replaced by Scunthorpe midfielder Andrew Crofts for the international encounter against Panama on Tuesday evening.
??????? SQUAD UPDATE @aaronramsey has been replaced in the #Wales squad by Andrew Crofts (Scunthorpe United). #WALPAN #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/Cc4bEj5rgY
— FA WALES (@FAWales) November 12, 2017
It is likely that the midfielder has picked up a knock and he is likely to be doubt for next weekend’s Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium.
The international break has hindered the Gunners’ chances of securing their first league win in three years over their North London rivals as striker Olivier Giroud also suffered an injury whilst away with the duty with the France national team.
The Welshman has been one of Arsenal’s key men so far this campaign, contributing with three goals and four assists in all competitions.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men can go seven points clear of Arsenal in the league table with a victory next weekend.
OPINION
Spurs players must be rubbing their hands together in the prospect of the upcoming North London derby. The list of Arsenal absentees is continuing to grow whilst it appears that Spurs key men Harry Kane and Dele Alli will be back to full fitness. Tottenham will also be hopeful that Ramsey will not feature as he has a decent record against them, scoring twice and ending up on the winning side on four occasions. The pressure will be on the Gunners as they need to close the gap on their rivals but Spurs will go into the match with confidence as they haven’t lost at the Emirates since the 2013-14 campaign.