Tottenham have now finished above Arsenal for the last four seasons and could be classed as a Top Team, and are on course to finish among the European places again this season, whereas the Gunners are looking set for playing the next campaign with no involvement in Europe at all.
Unless, of course, Arsenal win against Tottenham and go on a long winning run in the League, as well as moving closer to the Europa League Final. (Could the next North London Derby be played in Poland?) But to carry on winning, Mikel Arteta’s side need to regain their “winning mentality” which kept us in the Champions League for over 20 years under Wenger.
Ahead of the Spurs game, Arteta was asked how important a “winning mentality” was to Arsenal, and he admitted that we are still in the “process”. “Absolutely. The level of leadership, the passion that you play with and the belief that you have amongst the squad, to fight for every single ball for 96 minutes… Then it’s about learning how to win. Every game is different and you have to find the way to win it.
“There are certain things that are some basics you have to do every game. Sometimes there are some things you have to control because of the opponent, because of the circumstances, because of the time that is left. That’s a process we are in and we have to improve very much to be able to fight with the top teams.”
Recently though, results have been going our way again and we are rebuilding our confidence. If we can beat Tottenham, perhaps it will give us another boost and help in our process of building this “winning mentality”….