Mikel Arteta has been getting advice from Arsène Wenger as Arsenal prepare for Sunday’s north London derby almost exactly 20 years after “the Invincibles” won the club’s last Premier League title at the home of their rivals Tottenham.
An Arsenal victory at Spurs would re-establish their four-point advantage over Manchester City before Pep Guardiola’s side face Nottingham Forest later in the day. City will start that match with two games in hand and Arteta insists Liverpool are not out of contention despite their defeat by Everton.
Thursday marked the anniversary of the 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane that confirmed Wenger’s Arsenal as champions in 2004, and Arteta revealed he has been in touch with his former manager to get tips about handling the pressure of a title run-in.
“I have spoken to him a few times,” said Arteta, who was captain under Wenger for two years before retiring in 2016. “There were certain topics about how they won it and the later stages.
“He used to talk about that when I was a player. It is always there in the hard drive. For this time of the season, at the end it is about finding a way to win the game. And that is it. You can do it in various ways when you look at how they won the titles and how they won certain games with very very, very close margins. He always talked about that, about the fine margins. And who is going to step up on the occasion to make it happen.”
A picture of Arsenal’s players that includes the current sporting director, Edu, celebrating their title on the pitch at White Hart Lane hangs on the wall outside the press conference room at the club’s training ground. Arteta was asked whether his side, who registered a first win at Tottenham’s new stadium last season after three successive defeats, could take inspiration from one of Arsenal’s most famous days.
“I understand that, but that’s not going to happen mathematically, even if we do win it,” he said. “But there are moments, obviously, that are very important in our history and I am sure that a lot of players know about it. Certainly the staff and the ones that have been here long enough know about it. It’s about making our own history now.”
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Arsenal have played four matches since Tottenham were last in action for their 4-0 defeat to Newcastle on 13 April but Arteta is confident his battle-hardened team will be ready. “We are going to have to be very good to beat them,” he said.