Form is irrelevant when Arsenal play Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said yesterday as the race heats up for the two Premier League clubs’ bids to qualify for Europe next season.
While Spurs have picked up eight points in five games since the season’s restart last month, Arsenal have won 10 points, allowing Arteta’s side to leapfrog their old rivals into eighth in the standings — one point ahead of Jose Mourinho’s men.
“A derby has a completely different context to what is happening with the current form,” Arteta told reporters ahead of tomorrow’s clash. “I have huge respect for Jose, for what he’s trying to do there. To go there and get a win, we’re going to have to do everything really, really well. I’m expecting a really tough game. They’ve had ups and downs but overall you can see what he wants to bring to the club... They’ve had a lot of injuries and he hasn’t had a chance to be consistent with his teams, which was a big disadvantage... But I’m sure he’ll be successful.”
Arteta, who has been involved in numerous derbies such as the Old Firm derby in Scotland as a player and the Manchester derby as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, said the north London derby was always a special occasion.
The Spaniard, who played seven times for Arsenal against Spurs and was involved in two 5-2 wins against the city rivals in 2012, said his players did not need reminding of how special this game was ahead of their first visit to Spurs’ new stadium.
“They know, they know how the media reacts, what the fans are expecting,” Arteta said. “It’s going to be a shame because it’s such a beautiful stadium, to not have the fans there will not be the same. It will be a strange derby. It’s such a special occasion. Rivalry in football, if you take it in a positive way, it brings energy and passion and brings a city together... We’re privileged to have big teams in the city.”
Tottenham manager Mourinho says his first north London derby is ‘not a match that will decide big things’ but knows the importance of bragging rights for fans. “This moment we are both in a very similar situations,” Mourinho said. “
It’s not that incredible emotion where we are fighting for something really big, more than just to finish above the other one. It’s missing that, it’s not a match that will decide big things, but probably decides the only thing we can fight for.
“Both of us, realistically, are not fighting for a Champions League position. But it’s a big match for the table, and on top of that there is a rivalry. Clubs are made by and for the fans and the fans have a special feeling for this match and so the people on the pitch have to fight.”
Tottenham have kept three clean sheets in their last four games, but have managed only five goals in five games, compared to Arsenal’s 10. “To defend better, to concede less, to keep some clean sheets is obviously important for the team but we want to be attacking minded,” Mourinho said.
“We arrive in very dangerous positions, many times in crossing positions, we have good percentages of ball possession, spend the majority of the time in the opponents half, but no sharpness, no objective, always one more touch, not clear aggressive, sharp, killer decisions to go direct to goal.”
Mourinho said Dele Alli would miss tomorrow’s game as he is still struggling with a hamstring injury while defender Eric Dier is suspended.