Presser points | Spurs vs Arsenal | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou faced the media on Friday ahead the first north London derby of the campaign in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (2pm UK).

Here's what he had to say...

Team news

First up, Ange was asked for a squad update...

Ange: "Internationals all came back okay. Yves Bissouma is the only one that obviously has an issue. It’s not serious but he is getting treatment today. We will see if he can train tomorrow and make a decision there.  Out of the other guys, Micky van de Ven is all good and has trained pretty fully through the international break. Dominic Solanke back half of this week sort of joined with the first-team. He trained today, so again we have training tomorrow and if they get through alright I guess will be available. Richarlison and Will Lankshear are the only two who are in rehab."

Challenging Arsenal

Ange was asked if the current squad is capable of challenging Arsenal - runners-up in the Premier League for the last two seasons - this time around...

Ange: "Well, not specifically Arsenal, we want to be a club that can challenge everyone. That’s what we are trying to aim to become and to do that you have to perform at a certain level on a consistent basis, you have to have a squad strong enough to do that and withstand challenges that inevitably come during the course of a season. We have started the season solidly from a performance perspective, obviously the results haven’t reflected that. I think we are in a good place to push on from last year and improve in all areas of our game and if we do that and we are close to challenging last year then there is no reason why we can’t this year."

Derby thoughts...

Ange was asked what he'd made of the north London derby...

Ange: "I guess every derby is a bit different. You can tell it is fairly intense between the two clubs, geographically situated in the same part of town and trying to defend the same turf. There is always a bit of an edge. I thought both games last year were very entertaining. We played well at their place and really matched it with them. Here at our place we got blown away in the first-half and sort of tried to make a game of it in the second half. We know what it means to our supporters and what it means to the club. For us, what’s really important is we have to go out and perform, play our football, play well, because irrespective of the rivalry, they are a top side so you need to do that."

That winning feeling...

Ange was asked about the potential impact of a win against the Gunners...

Ange: "It's hard to say. I have never felt there is an easy way to success. I don’t think one thing can change your trajectory to a great effect. It helps because it’s not just a win in a big game, in a derby, but a win against one of the top sides. That gives you more belief and confidence and potentially that could inject some real momentum into our season. I have never been one to think that just a win on the weekend is enough for us to say we are on the right course and, alternatively, if things don’t go our way that somehow we need to change course."

Ange on Arsenal

Ange was asked what make this Arsenal side so difficult to play against...

Ange: "I think consistency in approach and mentality. You have seen them in the last two years in particular they have had a real relentlessness about them. They haven’t had to change their team too much, there is a real solid core which has carried them through the last two years. That gives you belief over time. In every game they feel like they can win. They have this confidence in themselves that they can challenge over the course of a Premier League season and I think that more than anything else allows you to build momentum from season to season where you can do it over the whole course of a season. They have the last two years, their form over the last two years in totality has been outstanding. They are going to be a tough nut to crack, but a great opportunity for us to do that."