Pochettino backs Spurs to put the Gunners to the sword
Mauricio Pochettino believes his Tottenham side have what it takes to overcome the mental hurdle of ending a poor run at Arsenal.
Spurs go to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow looking for their first win there since 2010 and just a second since way back in 1993, before the Arsene Wenger era.
They do so having already shrugged off one hoodoo this season by winning at Manchester United for the first time under Pochettino, whose side are in excellent form.
Spurs dominated Chelsea last weekend and then kept their Champions League hopes alive
in midweek with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan.
And Pochettino insists his players believe they can win in the backyard of their biggest rivals.
“I think the mentality so far is so good,” he said.“I think now it is about delivering the job.
“We have the belief which is most important in football.
“The belief and faith that you can beat any team away from home or at home and I think the squad have that belief, which is important.
“It’s special, a special game. Always it’s tough to play this kind of game because it means more than other games.
“Then the performance can be good or not so good.
“Then you have some luck or not in different games, but with the right mentality all is possible.
“We know very well what this game means for our fans.
“Of course the players feel that. The players are aware of what the game means.
“We have a lot of players who through the academy arrive in the first team.
“They know very well what it means to play Arsenal.”
Pochettino appears likely to make some changes to his side given their congested fixture list, which sees them play nine games in 30 days.
He added: “We are assessing them, maybe yes, maybe no.
“If we feel the player is going to take some risks then of course we are going to rest.
“We are going to put in a player that we believe can cope with 90 minutes of effort.
“We know you cannot 100% avoid the risk on the player, but we need to be sure the players that are going to play are ready to compete.”
Lucas Torreira has been praised for reigniting Arsenal’s “dirty” streak.
Torreira has played a starring role for Arsenal as they head into a mouth-watering fixture against Tottenham off the back of an 18-match unbeaten run.
The Uruguay international, 22, has added some much-needed bite to Arsenal’s midfield following his summer arrival from Sampdoria.
And Emmanuel Petit, the former Gunners midfielder whose combative partnership with Patrick Vieira spearheaded Arsenal to the League and FA Cup double in Arsene Wenger’s first full season in charge 20 years ago, believes Torreira has been Arsenal’s missing link in recent seasons.
“In terms of fighting spirit, Arsenal have needed a player like Torreira,” Petit said.
“With the old back four that I played with, we had players who would fight for every ball.
“Arsenal have been too glamorous in the past few years, and not dirty enough, but with Torreira, the dirt is coming back into the team.
“He is not the most talented player, but he is like a dog on the pitch, he is a leader and sets an example.
“He doesn’t impress you physically, but you can feel his breath on your neck, and his foot in your calf because he is there all the time, and that is the kind of player you need in a team.”