Tough game to call on Sunday


Mauricio Pochettino has admitted the Tottenham squad is not the finished article, that it is still being built. Building is an ongoing process, it is never finished, unlike the new stadium being built.

Right now we are missing the creativity of Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen seems to have gone into his creative shell, while Vincent Janssen is being starved of opportunities. We have to start providing chances for a centre-forward, not simply expect hi to manufacture goals out of thin air, they come when he has adapted his game. This is after all only his second season of top flight football despite the fact his is the first-choice national striker for Holland.

Against WBA we only had any urgency after we had gone behind with only 8 minutes left. That is the urgency we should be showing earlier in games, but we pass sideways waiting for the non-existent gap to appear.

Form in a North London Derby goes out of the window. We have seem on many occasions how one team raises it's game when they may not be on top form. Most games are close, most games are a battle so while confidence may be dented, the occasion should see a response from the players.

"Arsenal, after 20 years of Arsene Wenger, are one of the most consistent clubs in the world. It's difficult to compare us with Arsenal. We want to be one of the best but we're still building the training ground, the new stadium and our squad. But you put that away when you compete. We need to be aggressive and try to play better than them. 
"We're not in a positive situation, we've struggled to win games after beating Manchester City. We need to work hard and try more than before because we're in a difficult moment. You need to be ready to change the dynamic and we have a very good opportunity on Sunday. 
"It will be an exciting game for us and for them, too. It will be tough for both teams. It's a big challenge for them to beat us and for us to win. I was very disappointed with the performance on Wednesday. We know we were poor and we cannot play that way against Arsenal. But it's a completely different competition and it will be a completely different game."