Slegers urges Arsenal to remain in the moment when they face Spurs | OneFootball

Arsenal’s interim head coach Renée Slegers says that her side have to remain in the moment when they face Tottenham Hotspur in a North London derby this weekend.

The Gunners take on Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat on their last visit to N17 almost a year ago. Reflecting on the learnings from that match, Arsenal’s interim boss Slegers said that her side need to stay in the moment.

“One big thing for us is that we are in the moment,” Slegers said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “We don’t think about what’s going to happen after the game and just be in the moment.

“I think what Tottenham did really well [last year] was closing spaces down and they worked really hard to do that for 90-plus minutes, so that was a big learning.

“So how can we break things down? But obviously, we don’t know exactly what Tottenham are going to do tomorrow. Where are they at as a team? How are they going to attack this game? So we’ll see what they will give us. We’ll have to be on our toes tomorrow and be very present.”

Going on to comment on Spurs further, Slegers says that she sees a side that haven’t necessarily got the points that their performances have deserved.

She said “I think Tottenham are a strong team. They’ve been playing a top four opposition in quite a lot of games already, which are tough games. I think they might be stronger than the results they’ve had so far.

“We’re really respectful of them as an opponent, they have some individual qualities. I think they show great mentality and do things together, so it’s going to be a very hard opponent. If we keep on bringing what we’re bringing, I think we’re a top team, so it’s going to be interesting to see the two teams against each other tomorrow.”

Slegers takes charge of The Gunners in a North London derby for the first time and she says that she can already feel the enormity of the occasion.

She said “I was here [on the coaching staff] last year, so I did two or three [derbies]. You can see and feel it in the preparation for the game how big it is, so I’m looking forward to it a lot. I can’t say more than I look forward to tomorrow.”

Arsenal’s North London derby fixture at Tottenham Hotspur kicks-off at 1.45pm on Saturday afternoon.