Hey, the pressure is on Spurs not us!
Ahead of the North London derby, which will be played at Tottenham's White Hart Lane, Arsenal manager, Arséne Wenger has attempted to add extra pressure and Andres Villas Boas by claiming that his side having nothing to lose, whereas Tottenham have to prove a point. Wenger cheekily pointed out that with all the money Tottenham spent (more than 100m) they are still 17 points behind the Gunners.
Speaking in his pre-match conference at the Emirates, Wenger was asked if his side felt any additional pressure going into the North London Derby:
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Do we feel any additional pressure? Absolutely not. In fact not to sound arrogant but the lads are going into the game knowing that we could beat them at home hands down, in front of all their fans. If that is to happen then their will be chaos in that team.
We aren't playing with any pressure. If we were to lose, yes we could drop down to second place but we would still be over 10 points ahead Tottenham and still in the title race. If you ask me honestly they are not in the title race, I think top 4 is what they should be focusing on now but even with that I still think they will struggle. You still have City, Liverpool and Chelsea and possibly United ahead of Tottenham.
I think they are a good example of how spending lots of money doesn't always work out, and this is something we've been criticised for not doing over the past few years. Luckily and thankfully for us, we spent money this summer but we spent it wisely. It amazes me how they buy a 30 million player, who they possibly overspent on him, only for him to be sitting on the bench game in game out. For sure, I know if I spent 100 m and we were 9th and more or less out of the title race, the fans would go mental and the board would be on my case. Unfortunately, sooner or later that may happen to AVB, especially if we beat them at White Hart Lane."
When Wenger was asked what the difference is at United now that there is no Fergie, Wenger cheekily replied:
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That's not something you should ask me, ask the referees they will know."
Perhaps Wenger was building on Jack Wilshere's words about match officials and United and definitely striking a blow at his "old" nemesis.
So Arsenal will face Tottenham at White Hart Lane, can Arsenal defeat their fierce rivals and expand the gap, or will Tottenham finally wake up, defeat Arsenal and try and drag themselves up the ladder?