Arsene Wenger is coming up to 18 years in charge of Arsenal, making him the longest serving Premier League manager by a country mile. And our three north London derby victories last season helped the Frenchman to see off two more of his counterparts from White Hart Lane, Tim Sherwood and AVB.
So we have the next challenger, Mauricio Pochettino, who is well aware of the importance of the fixture and of how much of a boost to his team and his relationship with the fans it would be if they went away with any sort of result.
But they are coming into the game in pretty poor form, which is why the Argentinean is focusing his tactics on stopping the Gunners from playing our fluent and creative attacking game. It is not the way he played at Southampton, but needs must and he has already told Sky Sports that he will send his players out to get stuck in.
The Spurs manager said, ““We are focused on the game and know the history. But it is also important to write the history, starting now.
“This is a big game, a tough game, I know. It is always an important game.
“We need to be aggressive and play the game when the referee starts the game and not before. We need to play 90 minutes aggressively and stay focused on our job.”
So the Arsenal players need to be aware of this and be ready to match them, for work rate and desire at least. We don’t need anyone getting sent off, although you would think that was more likely from them, especially if we can play our own game and frustrate them.
With the slow start that Arsenal have made to the season, this game is just as crucial for us, but we have home advantage and the superior quality so as long as we don’t let them bully us in the early stages, it should be four in a row for the Gunners.