LONDON: Hugo Lloris has warned Arsenal that Tottenham are determined to avenge their recent north London derby despair when the rivals clash again in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side make the short trip the Emirates Stadium just over two weeks after crashing to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of their bitterest of neighbours in the Premier League. Tottenham led 2-1 on that occasion but fell apart in the second half as Arsenal hit back to claim their second successive home win in the north London derby following last season’s 2-0 success.
The fiery encounter featured a brawl between players from both teams after Tottenham’s Eric Dier enraged Arsenal with a provocative goal celebration.
Tottenham fans were also in trouble after a banana skin was thrown at Arsenal’s Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as he celebrated his goal in front of the away end. Adding to the toxic mood around the clash, Arsenal’s stars weren’t shy about taking to social media to brag about their victory, with Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s post of a picture of the team celebrating brand disrespectful by Pochettino. Pochettino insists Tottenham’s improvement during his reign means they no longer need to be obsessed about making derby victories the highlight of their season.
But Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris insists his team would love to make amends for their painful loss earlier this month. “Maybe it’s a good thing that we lost the Premier League game a few weeks ago because it is more motivation for us,” Lloris said. “There are no more bad feelings than when you get a defeat. It is another opportunity and we will try our best to go through. “Every game that you lose it hurts, but of course when you lead 2-1 it’s worse.
“It’s true Arsenal are playing very well and are a difficult team to beat, but I think we have the quality to do it.” Pochettino and Arsenal manager Unai Emery may be tempted to field under-strength teams to rest their key players ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule.
But Lloris is adamant Tottenham — yet to win a trophy under Pochettino — need to take the competition seriously, especially given it is Arsenal standing between them and a place in the semi-final. (AFP)
