Jose's five-point preview - Arsenal

Jose Mourinho's latest five-point preview turns to an historic day in store on Sunday - Arsenal's first visit to the new stadium in the Premier League, Jose's first north London derby, all staged behind closed doors.

We take on the Gunners in a 4.30pm kick-off with just one point between us in the Premier League table and four matches to go.

1 - The derby

Jose was asked for his initial thoughts going into his first north London derby…

Jose: “It’s a big game. I want to play, I want to win, and I want to demonstrate to my players my feelings in relation to what the match means for us in terms of the table, and also in terms of our rivalry.”

2 - Mikel Arteta

Jose knows the Arsenal boss from Arteta's days as a youngster at Barcelona...

Jose: "I met Mikel when he was a kid in Barcelona (he was only 15 when he joined Barca). I was there with Mr van Gaal, Mikel was a kid, really a kid. So I know him from there, and when you know these kids at that age, time flies, but in the end you always look at them as the kids you have great feelings for. When he became Pep’s (Guardiola) assistant, in a funny way I started calling him ‘Mister’ every time I met him, not Mikel anymore. We always have a laugh about this. I like him very, very much.”

3 - Friends, rivals...

Even though they are friends, Jose knows they are now derby rivals...

Jose: “I hope everything goes well for Mikel in his career, but I have to admit at the moment he’s at a rival club, a club that fights in this moment for the same we fight, which is a European position, and I cannot wish him good in this situation. The nature of his job is quite similar to mine, quite similar to Carlo (Ancelotti at Everton), we arrived in the middle of the season, and then it’s a double focus, which is not easy. On one side, you want the best results immediately, on the other side, you have an eye on the future. What you want is to build your own team, what you want is to start the next season. For me, for Carlo, for Mikel, it’s this job. We have to fight for the points, in this case points mean a Europa competition position, and points mean also a special rival feeling between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.”

4 - BCD

Jose was asked how playing the derby behind closed doors might affect the players’ mindset...

Jose: “It’s so sad. The best stadium in the world, a great, rival history in north London, two big clubs, I can imagine it would be a very special atmosphere in the stadium, in the streets in north London, so I think we all feel sorry. We have to do what we’re all trying to do. It’s hard, sad to play like this. Carlo Ancelotti said, ‘Jose, what a stadium, pity to be empty’, but in the end, we have to compete. These matches are deciding Champions League, Europa League, relegation, so they are proper matches, and we have to try to forget the situation, compete and try to win.”

5 - For the fans

Jose knows derbies - Inter-Milan, Madrid-Barca, United-City, and now Spurs-Arsenal - and it was put to him that he knows what it means to win these matches...

Jose: “At this moment we are both in a very similar situation. It’s not that incredible emotion that we’re fighting for something really big, more than to finish above you, or not finish above you. It’s missing that. It’s not a match that is going to decide big things. But it probably decides the only thing we can fight for, both of us. I don’t think realistically we’re fighting for a Champions League position - one-point difference, four matches to go, one between us, then the remaining three - which are of course still important - it’s a big match for the table. The fans have a special feeling for this match, so the players on the pitch have to fight for them.”