Arteta doesn’t want his Gunners to see red

the derby for the first time in his managerial reign, Arteta admits he “can’t wait”.

He played in north London, Old Firm and Merseyside derbies as a player and knows how important it is not to get carried away.

Arteta said: “One part is the emotional part, what is at stake and what you have to try to do to win these matches.

“And then it is individual quality and how you are able to have the right presence in that game.

“Somet imes everything becomes rushed in the first few minutes. Then you have to calm the game down and get control and try to manage the gears.”

Arteta admits he has spoken to Xhaka, who could return to the starting line-up after a threematch ban and having returned a positive test.

He said: “We were all in the same boat and know the outcome of what happened, and move on.”

Meanwhile, Arteta has backed Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to shine tomorrow.

Breached

The 32-year- old was rested for Wednesday’s 3- 0 Carabao Cup win over AFC Wimbledon but he’s likely to come back into Arteta’s side.

He’d have captained Arsenal in the previous north London derby in March but was axed from the side having breached the club’s pre-match protocol.

Arsenal won 2- 1 with Aubameyang remaining on the bench, the Spaniard saying after the victory that he dropped Aubameyang to sustain the club’s long-term “foundation”.

But Arteta insists the issue has long-since been resolved.

“Now I think Auba is in a different position,” he said.

“It was just an incident that we as a team had some ways of living together — that wasn’t the case (from him at that time) and so we made a decision.

“Now he has been in really good form. I think it was extraordinary in the way he played for the team at Burnley so we are expecting him to keep doing the same.”