Mikel Arteta says he is confident his Arsenal side have learned the lessons of their implosion at Tottenham last season, ahead of tomorrow’s north London derby.
Arteta’s men went to the home of their rivals in pole position to clinch a place in the top four with just three games left of last season, but imploded.
Cedric Soares gave away an early penalty before Rob Holding was sent off as the Gunners succumbed to a 3-0 defeat that effectively knocked the wind out of their sails and handed Spurs the momentum in the race for the Champions League.
Arsenal’s young side and their manager were widely accused of letting the emotions of the occasion get to them, but Arteta is confident they will not make the same errors at the Emirates this weekend.
“It’s a different context,” Arteta said. “We went into that game with many different circumstances, in terms of players we had available, not available, had to play that game, what happened during the game.
“You take the lessons, you learn from it and you move on, that’s it.”
Asked whether he felt his side had learned those lessons, the Spaniard added: “Yes.”
The crucial match was only played so close to the end of the season because it had been called off earlier in the campaign, in January, at Arsenal’s request following a Covid-19 outbreak in the camp.
Arteta, however, refused to buy into the theory that the rescheduling ultimately worked to his side’s disadvantage.
“I have no idea,” he said. “If you want to play in the Champions League then you have to be able to get through moments where the pressure is on and the circumstances are what they are and overcome that situation.
“That day we didn’t do it, from our side and from decisions that were made in that game."
