New Tottenham boss Igor Tudor says his players will have an even "bigger motivation" for this weekend's derby and hopes they can add to Arsenal's growing title jitters
New Spurs boss Igor Tudor insists his side have extra motivation to beat Arsenal this weekend
New Spurs boss Igor Tudor insists his side have extra motivation to beat Arsenal this weekend(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Igor Tudor insists Tottenham can pile more misery onto Arsenal’s faltering title challenge. Interim boss Tudor admitted Tottenham are in an “emergency situation” but says they can still take full advantage of their North London rivals going through squeaky bum time.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has managed just two wins from their last seven games and they threw away two-goal lead to draw at bottom-of-the table Wolves in midweek.
That means Manchester City can close the gap to just two points from leaders Arsenal before the derby on Sunday which will pile the pressure on Arteta.
When asked whether it was a good time to play Arsenal, Tudor said: “I hope so. Is it a good time to play against Arsenal at home? It’s always a good time to play against Arsenal at home.
“We need to become what we want to be. It's about that. Arsenal gives you bigger motivation, ok bigger quality of opponent, but also bigger motivation. So I hope we see concrete things on Sunday. So let’s go.
"We respect them but we play at home. Let’s see what will happen. We need to have courage, confidence. We have good players, they have good players. So let’s see what will happen.
“Be humble but brave, intelligent. The right things to do to put in the pitch. We play at home, eh?”
Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead against doomed Wolves
Arsenal's lead at the top could be down to two points by Sunday
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Tudor did admit he will not have time to fully introduce a more attractive style of play to entertain the fans as he bemoaned he has only got ten fit outfield players plus three substitutes.
But former Croatia defender Tudor, whose last job was in charge of Italian giants Juventus, added: “Style of play comes from pre-season when you have 50 days in pre-season and you have 20 players. Of course when you have the style, very concrete.
“But now this is an emergency, an emergency situation when you need to find fast what suits the ten plus three players we have and it’s totally different.”