Mikel Arteta: Arsenal still have a point to prove against Spurs ahead of Super Sunday’s north London derby | Football News

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side still have a point to prove in a north London derby which could see the Gunners secure their first away victory against Spurs since 2015.

The Gunners head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second north London derby of the year, having beaten Spurs 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in October, but hoping to end a long winless run away to Spurs.

Arteta seemed nervously optimistic ahead of a local clash that could be crucial for the Premier League title race and a match he described as “one of the biggest games of the season.”

Despite Arsenal leading the Premier League and having improved their reputation since the 3-0 thrashing by Spurs last season, Arteta still believes Arsenal are going to have to show that they are “good enough.”

“The way that we have performed and the results that got confidence-wise has put us in a good position, but that is something that you have to show every match and every opponent, especially every away game brings challenges and this is no different,” said Arteta.

“We are going to have to go there, play our way and win the match.”

When questioned on his players’ behaviour after another FA charge, Arteta – who himself has been vocal on the toucline – said that he “prefers not to comment.”

However, when pushed on the matter, the Spaniard explained that “anything we can do to improve, we will always have conversations with the players, the staff and as a club to see what we can do better if we have to change the behaviour.”

‘When you win, it doesn’t get better than that’

On the enormity of the away fixture that Arsenal have not won since 2015, Arteta said his side “know how much it means for us in the table” and “to our people.”

“I just love it,” said Arteta, who played in Arsenal’s last successful trip to Spurs. “The reason why we are here is to play these kinds of games, but we just have to focus on playing well and doing what we have to do to win the game.”

The former Arsenal skipper reflected on the feelings that he had as a player in “emotional” Spurs fixtures of the past.

“Very passionate, an incredible feeling when you are on that pitch and just look around and feel the support, the tension and the atmosphere around it,” said Arteta.

“We have to beat them now at their place and that’s the way we have to play the game.

“Once you are there, you release the moment and, in my opinion, it is one of the best things you can do to realise how lucky we are to be in the position that we are in and having the possibility to affect the game.

“When you win, it doesn’t get better than that.”

Arteta admitted he didn’t know what to expect from Tottenham, but the 40-year-old remains wary of the challenge that Antonio Conte’s side pose.

“They approach games in different ways, sometimes they are very aggressive from the beginning, sometimes they allow you to make the game and they have an array of tools that they can use to cause you problems,” said Arteta.

“We have to prepare for any possible occasion and it will be left to the players to do what we have to do on the pitch.”

‘Jesus progressing well but far from recovery’

The Arsenal manager also gave an injury update on Gabriel Jesus with the striker “progressing really well” but still set to spend a while longer on the sidelines.

“He’s working really hard, he’s in the right place in his recovery in regards to the time that we set for him, but it’s still a bit far to be fair,” Arteta said.

“I would like to see him (back in the squad) very quickly but I don’t that’s going to happen, so we are going to have to be patient.

“He’s a player that is going to push everybody there to be really fast on the pitch, but we have to be cautious.”

The Gunners boss said Emile Smith-Rowe could continue his recovery with an appearance against Spurs after coming on for 15 minutes in the FA Cup tie against Oxford.

“Great to have him back – he felt good,” added Arteta. “It was obviously his first minutes after four months.

“He’s worked so hard to be in the position that he’s in today and now we need to give him minutes and we need to get him embedded within the team because he’s a very important player for us.”

Arteta refuses to talk Mudryk

When questioned on Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhailo Mudryk, Arteta refused to talk about “any other player”, but did admit that there were “some interesting things that we can do to improve the team.”

“We are a bit short in certain areas, but we are trying as a club, we are determined to improve the team in every window and that’s what we are trying to do.”

Watch Arteta’s Arsenal take on Tottenham in this weekend’s north London derby from 4pm on Sky Sports Premier League; kick-off 4:30pm.