‘We need to play each minute with intensity'

Unai Emery had an unforgettable first-ever north London derby experience.

Last December, our head coach oversaw a 4-2 victory over our rivals at Emirates Stadium - a game that he hopes can act as the blueprint for Sunday’s clash. 

“I want to speak about each match as different because we can remember last year's derby and the positives from it, some things were less positive,” Emery said. “Above all I want to write a new derby [memory], a new match for us here. Against Tottenham it's a derby with our supporters at home and we want to be able to have a special day with them.

“The intensity [last season] was very important but they are also going to try to play with their identity and we need to impose our gameplan against them, knowing it's going to be difficult. We need to look at our positioning offensively and defensively. 

“Above all, we need to play each ball, each metre, each minute with that intensity. After, we need to be clever when we have the ball and are in good situations to make the difference against them. Also, I think it's a very, very big challenge for us and it's a very, very good moment, a good match and the possibility of winning against them on Sunday gives a chance for good success.

“We also remember that last year we finished behind them with only one-point difference in 38 matches. We are going to play against the Champions League finalists and there are a lot of positives for us, for our supporters, to enjoy that match on Sunday.”