DON’T LOSE THE PASSION
Gunners must show our emotion says Emery.. but keep respect
UNAI EMERY insists he does not want to take the passion out of tonight’s North London derby by telling his Arsenal players to cool it.
But he will remind them to be respectful if they get to celebrate scoring against their big rivals in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals – and expects the same from Tottenham.
Their 4-2 league win over Spurs at the start of the month was marred by a mass brawl between the players and seven arrests for disorder in the stands.
One Tottenham fan – Averof Panteli, 57, of Norwich – was yesterday given a fouryear ban and £500 fine for throwing a banana skin at Gunners striker Pierreemerick Aubameyang in a “targeted racist during that game.
Emery said: “This isn’t respect. I think it’s a good decision to ban the fan.
“We need to respect the opposition in every match. This respect is by playing with a big motivation and a lot of excitement to win against them. We must always respect this emotion.
“Emotion isn’t bad. I think showing emotion, the players, the fans and me, is good. But incident” every time we must respect them. Football is emotion.
“In a derby, maybe this emotion is greater. When you win it’s amazing, when you lose it’s horrible. But respect is important.”
The ugly scenes involving the players was sparked by Eric Dier celebrating a Spurs goal at the Emirates in front of the home fans.
Emery said: “We can show this emotion with respect when we’re playing but also HARRY KANE is a doubt for tonight’s north London derby after missing training yesterday with a cold.
The England striker (right) has scored eight goals in his last eight matches against Arsenal. when they scored against us, they can show their emotion with their supporters. But with respect.”
The clubs have announced a zero tolerance policy of racist or abusive behaviour in the stands tonight.
A phone number has been set up where fans can report any incidents and the clubs have vowed to come down hard on anyone stepping out of line. A statement from Spurs said: “We wish to But speaking before the EFL Cup quarter-final at the Emirates, manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “We need to assess him because he had a cold this morning and didn’t go outside to train. Big decision.
“If we consider that he can remind supporters travelling to Emirates Stadium that any kind of racist, discriminatory or antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated by the club.”
Emery admitted there is a big gap between the rivals, which he hoped to close as quickly as possible.
He said: “The demand on us to keep up is very big.
“We want to win, but it’s a very big test.”
■■The semi-final draw takes place after the match. cover 90 minutes, maybe he can play. If not, maybe he will be on the bench.”
Spurs have confirmed they have activated the option to extend Belgium international defender Jan Vertonghen’s contract until 2020.