North London derby: Tottenham ready for ‘intense’ Arsenal game says Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou says his side are ready for the ‘intense’ atmosphere of the north London derby when Arsenal visit on Sunday.

Postecoglou guided Spurs to a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium last season in his first derby before Arsenal left with all three points at Tottenham in late April.

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Tottenham lost at Newcastle in their last game before the international break but the former Celtic manager says they are ready to put on a performance in front of their fans.

He said: “Every derby is a bit different, obviously this one, you can tell it’s fairly intense between the two clubs, obviously geographically we are situated in the same part of town.

“We are on the same turf, there’s a little bit of an edge. I thought both games last year were entertaining.

“We know what it means to our supporters and the club and we’ve got to go out there and perform.”

Spurs fell away last season, losing five of their last seven Premier League games to finish fifth and miss out on the Champions League.

This season, Postecoglou says his squad can compete with the best again.

North London Derby heritage. pic.twitter.com/11aw5VZ03R

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 12, 2024

He said: “It’s not specifically Arsenal, we want to be a club that can challenge everyone. That’s what we are trying to aim to become.

“To do that, you’ve got to perform at a certain level, at a consistent basis, the squad’s strong enough to do that. We’re in a good place to push on from last year and improve on all areas.

“There’s no reason why we can’t [challenge] this year.”

Record signing Dominic Solanke could feature after returning to training while defender Micky van de Ven is expected to be fit.

“Everyone’s reporting all well except for Yves Bissouma,” added Postecoglou. “He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.”