FEAR OF FAILURE HAUNTS POCH

Trophy-laden Wenger puts the focus on Tottenham boss’ record

ARSENE WENGER believes Mauricio Pochettino will be haunted by the fear of never winning a trophy at Tottenham.

The pair locks horns in the first north London derby of the season tomorrow. Pochettino’s Spurs side finished above the Gunners for the first time in 21 years last term, and many pundits are backing them to collect three points at the Emirates. But the Argentine has yet to lift any silverware in his three and a half years at White Hart Lane. In contrast, Wenger was a Premier League winner in his first full season in England – and has won the league three times in total – while the club’s longest-serving manager has also lifted the FA Cup seven times. And the Frenchman has warned that a coach who has yet to win honours will always fear that it might never happen. He said: ® “How do you get across the line for the first time? By keeping your nerves and getting the players to focus on what is important.

“And at some stage, by fighting a little bit against your inhibitions – the fear that you won’t get over the line.

“You always have that – it is difficult to finish any job.

“How far away is he from success? I don’t know, and, honestly, it is not my main worry.

“It is up to us to get over the line and win trophies. It is not easy.”

Lagging

Spurs might boast the upper hand now but Wenger insists that two decades of domination cannot be washed away by a single season.

Wenger, who has not masterminded a league win against Spurs since Pochettino’s appointment, said: “It’s down to us to change the opinions of people with our performances, I cannot say much more. “We need to show that it’s not true.” Arsenal fans became used to joking at Tottenham’s expense, creating ‘St Totteringham’s Day’ to mark the earliest point of the season when the Gunners were sure to finish above them. Now they know they will still be lagging behind their local rivals, whatever the score tomorrow lunchtime.

Wenger added: “It is one of the fixtures that is very important and you want to win.

“It’s always a fierce derby. We must focus on the game and have full commitment, but also be calm enough to focus on the game.

“In the table, we need to make some ground up and at home we have been very strong and that will be vital to decide where we finish at the end of the season.”

Olivier Giroud has been ruled out by a thigh injury and Arsenal must test fellow forward Danny Welbeck and defender Shkodran Mustafi.

Playmaker Santi Cazorla remains on the comeback trail and Wenger admitted the Spain star’s injury was the worst he had ever seen.

Cazorla has been out for more than a year and almost lost a leg after ankle surgery went horribly wrong.

He required a skin graft from his arm to replace lost flesh and there are still fears he might never play again.

Wenger said: “It is the worst injury I’ve known. It’s gone from worse to worse.”