Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists that his side will not be pulling any punches when they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby on Thursday.
The Gunners currently hold a four-point lead over Tottenham in the race to finish in the top-four, and can cement ourselves into the group stages of the Champions League with a win tomorrow night.
A draw would leave us in an extremely strong position also however, with a four point gap with just two matches to play, leaving us needing just one win from our two remaining fixtures or for our rivals not to win their two, but a loss would bring a totally different scenario.
Arteta vows that he is telling his players to go out and earn our place tomorrow however, as he wants to win, and is telling his side not to alter their game for the big game.
“The message is clear, if we win against them we are in the Champions League next season,” Arteta exclaimed.
“You don’t need any motivation or to tell them anything more than that. The opportunity is there, we are going to play and go for it like we always do It’s how we have got into this position, and it’s how we are going to approach it.”
This could well be mind games, but at the same time I would be more worried if we was looking to change the way we have been playing as we have enjoyed so much success of late.
If Arteta now lines up with a back five, we will know that his comments were not completely honest as that definitely changes how we play, but it should be for an exciting occasion no matter how the teams do line up because of what is at stake.
Do you think we should be changing our gameplan at all tomorrow? Is the plan likely to change as the game rolls on?
Patrick
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Video – Mikel Arteta talking about our nerve-filled win over Leeds United