Rivaldo Exclusive: Gabriel Jesus & Richarlison are more than North London rivals

North London derby has strong Brazilian influence

The Premier League returns this weekend with a great top of the table clash between Arsenal (1^st) and Tottenham (3^rd) in which up to seven Brazilian players could participate across both teams.

Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus could all feature for the Gunners, whilst Lucas Moura, Emerson Royal and Richarlison may play for Spurs.

This reflects the current quality of Brazilian players, as only the best players in the world have a place in the English Premier League - the best league in the world in my opinion - and in those top teams.

In fact, 12 of the 26 players called up by Tite for the most recent international friendlies play in England's top-flight and that's the best compliment we can give Brazilian players at this moment in time.

Richarlison and Jesus to fight for lead role

One of the stars of the Brazilian team in the most recent friendlies was Richarlison, who shone in the lead role in attack with three goals, unlike Gabriel Jesus, who this time was left out of the squad.

Even so, and looking at Gabriel Jesus' current form, I believe that he will be among the squad for the World Cup and will fight directly with Richarlison for a place in the starting XI.

I see the two players having similar characteristics - they are fighters, always annoying the defenders, they are very fast and strong in front of goal.

I think that only in the final few training sessions in Qatar for the World Cup we will have a final decision from Tite on who will start as Brazil's number nine for the opening match against Serbia.

The headache this brings for Tite, to decide who will play up front at the World Cup, is excellent news for Brazilian football, that only reinforces the idea of the great quality we have at present.

Argentina's confidence in Qatar

Betfair challenged me to indicate some teams (other than Brazil) that will travel to Qatar full of confidence in hope of a strong World Cup performance.

After the most recent international friendlies, I see Argentina in a great place that stems from winning the Copa America last year, so, we need to take them seriously at the 2022 World Cup.

The team shows defensive solidity and, of course, has Lionel Messi, who is well in tune with his teammates at the moment, which makes his game easier, so we can count on Argentina to fight for the trophy in what should be Messi's final World Cup.

Aside from Argentina, European sides like France, Spain and Germany can never be ruled out as the lead favourites because they have excellent players, plenty of tradition, and they come into the tournament with their squad's in good shape.

Qatar will be a different World Cup from what we are used to as the players will come into the tournament at the top of their game, unlike after a typical four week training camp, so it will be interesting to follow and find the differences that emerge.

Man City too strong for United in Manchester Derby

Manchester City will host Manchester United this Sunday in a derby that has seen the dominate side change in recent years, with Pep Guardiola's side again coming into this one as the clear favourites.

The Citizens are much more in tune with their style of play while the Red Devils - with new manager Erik ten Hag - are still looking for their best and most effective system, so I see a Manchester City win here with the in-form Erling Haaland giving the visitors' defence a lot of headaches.