Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo comes out fighting ahead of North London derby

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo wants to see a special game against Arsenal.
Nuno Espirito Santo, manager of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Premier League match (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Nuno Espirito Santo, manager of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Premier League match (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Nuno Espirito Santo, manager of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Premier League match (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Nuno Espirito Santo has reiterated that his Tottenham Hotspur side will go into the London derby against Arsenal full of confidence despite their recent slump in form.

The Portuguese manager has seen a strong start to the season that produced three 1-0 wins on the spin, replaced with back-to-back 3-0 defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

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They then threw away a 2-0 lead at Wolverhampton, before winning the game on penalties to progress to the fourth round of the League Cup in midweek.

A section of the fans are already turning on Nuno, who was down the list of preferred managers before his appointment in the summer.

Arsenal beat Tottenham in this exact fixture last season, coming from a goal down to win 2-1 and hamper Tottenham’s bid to finish in the four.

Spurs have also only won one of their last 28 games away to Arsenal, losing 16 and drawing 11 of those.

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Despite that Nuno Espirito Santo is confident that his team has what it takes to go to the Emirates and get all three points.

He said: “It’s not another game. It’s a special game. A special game for us, a special game for our fans. It’s going to be a tough match but no doubt, it’s a different game.

“Playing good is finding the right balance in our game. Improvements to be made but a lot of positives that we take from the previous games, so let’s keep on going.

“There are a lot of aspects that we have to improve. Set pieces, the way we conceded, especially with the momentum of the game, we were in control.”

Five facts about North London derby at a glance

  • Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has been involved in six goals in his eight Premier League appearances against Tottenham.
  • Nuno Espírito Santo will be the 10th different individual Spurs manager whose first north London derby came away from home.
  • Spurs’ Harry Kane is the all-time highest goalscorer in competitive meetings between Arsenal and Tottenham.
  • After winning their first three league games all 1-0 this season, Tottenham have lost 3-0 in both of their last two, with both matches being London derbies. Spurs have never lost three consecutive league games by 3+ goals in their entire history.
  • Tottenham striker Harry Kane began his career at Arsenal before joining Tottenham.