Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas is aware of the importance of this weekend’s upcoming North London Derby against Arsenal, and admits that it is a must-win game for his team.
Tottenham will travel to the Emirates this Saturday looking to bounce back from two consecutive defeats. Tottenham recorded a surprise home defeat against Wigan and then followed it up with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of reigning champions Manchester City.
Spurs will be looking to secure three points, and ultimately the bragging rights over their fierce local rivals Arsenal.
This game marks Andre Villas-Boas’ first North London derby, and the Portuguese manager will have his first taste of the famous and popular rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham.
The manager is looking forward to the big game, and insists that the importance of the game is not lost on him. Arsenal have pretty much dominated their local rivals in the past 18 years. The Gunners have finished above Tottenham in the Premier League, and
have enjoyed Champions League football year in and year out.
Last season, Tottenham had the upper hand over Arsenal where the Gunners were behind Spurs in the league table, but that all changed one day at the Emirates when Arsenal came back from behind to beat Tottenham 5-2, and ultimately finished above them when
the season ended. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 had once again qualified for the Champions League while Tottenham missed out, despite finishing fourth.
Speaking to the press, Villas-Boas said:
“People have been speaking about it quite often, between staff and the chairman. You understand the importance of it. This is a game where passion is extremely high. It is a game which represents three points, but in the league it represents more than that
in the history of North London Derbies.”
When asked about his assistant manager Steffen Freund’s comments, who had yesterday said that Spurs are closing the gap on their rivals, Villas Boas added:
“Arsenal have accumulated more trophies recently, which is important. This is a step where we want to be in the future. We have been within reach in recently, so we are certainly getting nearer in terms of what we are doing as a club.”
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