Not since the mid-Nineties has the north London derby been quite so incidental and irrelevant to matters at the top of the table.
This is ninth against eighth, little more than a Europa League six-pointer. Just another local skirmish, which might go some way towards determining whether one side of this ancient rivalry can salvage enough points from the last four fixtures to minimise the embarrassment of a dismal Premier League campaign.
By kick-off, Arsenal could be 45 points behind the champions with Tottenham trundling along a point further behind.