Victory for third-placed Tottenham would send them seven points clear of the fifth-placed Gunners and keep them above Chelsea in what is becoming a London-based tussle for third and fourth spots behind the Manchester clubs.
Bale has scored eight goals in his last six matches for Tottenham after manager Andre Villas-Boas gave the Welsh winger freedom to roam inside, his latest stunner coming to earn his side a 3-2 victory at West Ham United on Monday.
While Villas-Boas has won over the sceptics among Tottenham's fans after a tricky start at White Hart Lane, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has come in for unprecedented criticism as an eighth successive trophyless campaign looms.
Tottenham also led at Emirates Stadium this season before Emmanuel Adebayor was sent off and Arsenal again roared back to claim another 5-2 victory.
Bale scored in that encounter and much of Wenger's pre-match preparation this week will be devoted to becalming a man already being tipped to win the Player of the Year award.
"Words can't descibe how well he is playing at the moment," Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker, sent off in the defeat at the Emirates last season, said of Bale.
"We have players in our squad that Arsenal would want any day of the week. It's a big game for us and we can push away a little bit."
Fourth-placed Chelsea, who set up an FA Cup Quarter-Final at Manchester United by beating Middlesbrough on Wednesday, can ramp up the pressure on Sunday's protagonists when they host West Bromwich Albion 24 hours earlier - a fixture that has not been kind on recent managers.
