Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to both miss North London Derby

Tottenham Hotspur are set to receive a boost as the second meeting with Arsenal gets closer.  Word came through the Twitter machine that Arsenal stars Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both set to miss the next three matches after picking up injuries in action yesterday. The pair will miss this weekend's game against Swansea as well as the Champions League tie at Bayern and the upcoming North London Derby.

Walcott (calf) & Ox (hamstring) expected to miss 3 games. Early indication TW slightly worse but both set to be out for #Swans #Bayern #THFC

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) October 28, 2015

Both Walcott and Ox picked up early injuries during Arsenal's 3-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday in yesterday's Capital One Cup clash. Oxlade-Chamberlain was subbed off after only two minutes, and Walcott made way in the 19th minute.

Our friends at The Short Fuse were first to report this story and suggest that, barring future injuries, Arsenal may roll this weekend against Swansea with an attacking midfield band of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, and Santi Cazorla ahead of a pivot of Matthieu Flamini and Francis Coquelin, and behind Olivier Giroud or Joel Campbell.

Of course we never cheer opposition injuries here at Cartilage Free Captain (not even if it's Arsenal!), but there's no doubt that having Ox and Walcott on the sidelines will be pretty significant to Spurs as they head into the NLD at the Emirates on November 8. Arsenal, distressingly, look pretty good this year, and it's never easy to pick up a win at the Scum's place. Injuries suck, but man, I'd sure like to get a win against the Scum this year.

As of yet, there is no word on whether any of Spurs' recovering players like Nabil Bentaleb or Son Heung-Min will be ready in time to play for Spurs in the NLD.