Tottenham Hotspur coach, Ange Postecoglou, and Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta have stressed the importance of their clash as they are set for one of the most important North London derbies of all time.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, Arsenal will be at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium for a clash that could end their Premier League title race or keep them going.
Note that Arsenal are going into the game as table-toppers with 77 points in 34 games, a point above second-placed Manchester City who have a game in hand.
As for Tottenham Hotspur, they are currently battling for a Champions League spot. They are occupying the 5th spot with 60 points in 32 games with two games in hand when compared to 4th placed Aston Villa who have 66 points in 34 games. Hence, the North London derby is as important for Tottenham Hotspur as it is for Arsenal.
Ahead of the must-win game, Mikel Arteta said, “Enjoy the moment and try to navigate things naturally. Tottenham are super-competitive at the moment. There is one thing to do in this situation, compete, compete, compete.
“It’s a really good sign because we know what we are going to have to do to win it and we have to raise the bar to match that.”
Ange Postecoglou whose side have not been as consistent as they were at the start of the season, stressed that his team will stick to their attacking style against high-goalscoring Arsenal who defeated Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday.
“It’s just about making sure you embrace the challenge and try to tackle it in the way that got us into this position in the first place,” Postecoglou told reporters on Friday.
“From our perspective, we’ve had some inconsistencies and challenges this year, but when we’ve played well we’ve played a certain way and gone about things in a certain way.
“There’s no point now when you get to the most important part of the year to shy away from that or change your approach.
“You’ve got to double down on it and focus on playing our football. That’s a great measure for us because otherwise, you’ll never know where you’re short or whether you can be successful in doing it our way.”
