TODAY, 4.30PM OUT OF Lloris chasing OUR LEAGUE! a step up after Chelsea pain
Devine: It’s all about pressure
JOHN DEVINE’S loyalties may lie with Arsenal in the North London derby but that doesn’t mean he can’t sympathise with the pressure
Spurs boss Nuno
Espirito Santo finds himself under.
The former Gunners right-back (below) starred in the FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup finals of 1980 and made 111 appearances for the club.
Espirito Santo finds himself in a tricky position today, Spurs having lost to Chelsea and Crystal Palace in their most recent Premier League outings.
Spurs were top prior to the international break with a 100 per cent record. Arsenal were rooted to the bottom.
But a Gunners win will put the rivals level on points. Devine said: “The attitude in that second half against Chelsea was outrageously bad and going off that showing, you have to fancy Arsenal.
“Santo has only just started really and was doing well before the international break.
“From my experience of these games, they are emotional and the atmosphere is incredible, so it will be who handles that pressure best.”
HUGO LLORIS says last Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea laid bare the gap between the two sides. Spurs head to bitter rivals Arsenal today still reeling from a perfect table-topping start to the season being destroyed by consecutive 3-0 defeats to Crystal Palace and Thomas Tuchel’s Blues.
But, while conceding they were rubbish against Palace and thoroughly outclassed by the Stamford Bridge side, Lloris insists nobody inside Nuno Espirito Santo’s camp is panicking.
And the Spurs skipper reckons pundits who ripped into Harry Kane and Co after last Sunday’s second-half collapse against Tuchel’s Champions League winners should stay calm too.
Ahead of the North London derby, Lloris said: “After three games, it was too early and now after five, it’s still too early.the truth is at the end of the season.
“Obviously, people are watching and analysing every game – that’s normal. But as a group of players, as a team, it’s too early.we need time.
“We cannot forget that it’s a new process with a new manager, with new ideas – and it takes time to reach a certain level.
“Chelsea were too good for us. They’ve won many trophies together, their confidence is high.
“When they feel it’s the right moment, they press the button and it’s like a machine.we have to recognise, at this moment, they are a much better team than us.”
The same does not apply to
Arsenal, of course. But then neither did it apply to Palace before then-league leaders Tottenham’s disastrous thumping at Selhurst Park.
French stopper Lloris went on: “After three wins, we were very pleased to take nine points – but there was a lot to improve.
“The defeat against Palace was a bad one because we didn’t recognise the team – and finished with this feeling of, wow, lots of regrets!
“It’s like you go there without playing and that’s something we don’t want to feel again.”
Certainly, Lloris is aware that, if they want to keep the snipers quiet, taking out bitter rivals Arsenal today – for the first time in 16 league visits to the Emirates – would be a massive boost.
Reminded that none of the current side has tasted a Premier League triumph on enemy soil – the last one for Spurs came in 2010-11 – he confirmed it is high time they set that record straight.
Lloris, who joined the club in 2012, went on: “I remember some draws, some defeats.there was a League Cup win. But it’s true I am still looking for a league win, and, obviously, it’s not good enough.
“The result is the only important thing.a derby is not even about the league – it’s about pride, it’s for the fans.we know what it means.”