Antonio Conte may be forced to hand Tottenham man NLD debut, but he’ll love what he did v Arsenal last time out – TBR View

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte may be forced to hand Fraser Forster his debut in the upcoming North London Derby, but he’ll love what the goalkeeper did against Arsenal last time out.

Hugo Lloris was forced to withdraw from the France national team earlier this week due to a thigh injury.

Lloris has been in brilliant form for Antonio Conte’s side this season but he is currently a doubt for the game against Arsenal next Saturday.

This means Forster could be set to make his first appearance for Spurs in what is their biggest fixture of the season.

And last time the 34-year-old faced Arsenal, he was playing for Southampton and put in a ‘brilliant’ display.

Conte may be forced to hand Forster debut

Forster completed the switch to Spurs this summer after his contract with the Saints expired.

The English shot stopper is yet to play a single minute for Tottenham this season but could now be called upon for the short trip to the Emirates.

The former Saints man has an encouraging record against Spurs’ bitter rivals. Forster has kept three clean sheets out of seven games against Arsenal (Sky Sports).

And when Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side beat Arsenal 1-0 back in April, Forster put in an inspired display.

Forster made several eye-catching saves during the game, including one to prevent Bukayo Saka from opening the scoring from close-range.

The former England international also denied Emile Smith Rowe and Granit Xhaka during the game.

The result certainly could have been much different if Forster wasn’t between the sticks on the day.

And at the time, 90 Min raved about his display and gave him a nine out of 10 rating.

They wrote: “Almost topped his contender for save of the season with a pair of brilliant stops after the break.”

There’s no doubt that Lloris would be a huge loss for Spurs if he is ruled out of the clash next weekend. But Conte can take encouragement from Forster’s last display against the Gunners.

If Forster does make his first start next Saturday, Conte will certainly hope that he can produce a similar display to the one he did back in April.