Arsène Wenger said his Arsenal side “have no fear” going into Saturday’s north London derby at the Emirates Stadium, despite falling behind Tottenham Hotspur for the first time in his 21 years at the club.
Arsenal finished 11 points behind Spurs last season and missed out on Champions League qualification. With 11 games of this season gone they trail Mauricio Pochettino’s side by four points but Wenger denies his team are underdogs.
“The derby is one of the fixtures that is very important in the season but one that we also want to win to make ground up in the table with the top teams,” he said. “At home we have been strong, and our home strengths will be vital in deciding where we finish at the end of the season.
“We have no fear, we are focused on nullifying their strengths and expressing ours. Tottenham are a good side but we have the quality to win the game.
“We don’t see ourselves as underdogs at all. I think the question about the balance of power in north London is a question we have to answer and the only way to answer is on the pitch. The comparison will be between the two performances on Saturday and we have a good opportunity to show we are strongest, so let’s do it.”
One thing Wenger does undoubtedly have over his rival manager is trophies in the cabinet. Arsenal have won the FA Cup twice in the three years Pochettino has been in charge at Spurs, while the Argentinian is yet to win a trophy there.
“It is always difficult to finish a job,” said Wenger of the qualities necessary to claim silverware. “You need to keep your nerves and get the players to focus. At some stages, you must also fight a little bit against your inhibitions – the fear that you won’t get over the line. Basically you need to focus on what is important and not focus on the trophy too much.”
Wenger also responded to remarks made by the former Arsenal full-back Lee Dixon that the present side are not tough enough to succeed. Reinforcing a complaint made regularly by supporters in recent years, Dixon told TalkSport that “the balance and mentality of the team is all wrong”.
“That’s the kind of remarks I have got for 20 years,” Wenger said. “I remember many people asked me [in the 2002-03 season]: ‘Will [Robert] Pires be tough enough to play in the derby?’ He’s the guy who scored more goals than anyone else in the derby.
“We have to agree what is tough and not tough. I believe players have to be efficient, I believe that counts the most. As a defender efficiency is to not make mistakes, as a striker it’s to put the ball in the net. Tough or not tough doesn’t matter.”
Wenger confirmed Olivier Giroud will miss the derby with a minor injury. Laurent Koscielny should be fit to start after remaining on the France bench during the international break after recovering from an achilles problem.
Shkodran Mustafi and Danny Welbeck will have late fitness tests. The Arsenal manager also provided an update on the rehabilitation of Santi Cazorla. The midfielder has been missing from the first team for more than a year after serious complications with an ankle injury. Wenger described the condition as “horrific”.
“It started with a little pain in the achilles and it has gone from worse to worse. I feel very sorry for what happened to him, because it is unbelievable. I hope he comes back. I left him out of the squad, hoping he would be available in January and that is what I hope for.”