(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Arsenal must win an "electric" north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur to issue a statement of intent to both their local rivals and other top-four contenders, goalkeeper Petr Cech has said ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash.
Arsenal last beat Tottenham in a 2015 League Cup tie but have failed to register a league win over their neighbours since 2014, drawing four and losing two of the last six league meetings between the sides.
As Tottenham have risen to prominence over recent years, the derby has become more closely contested and Cech has backed his teammates to get a meaningful victory for everyone at the Emirates stadium.
"With the atmosphere and the electricity in the crowd...," Cech told the club's website. (www.arsenal.com) "You need to win a game like this and not only because it's a derby, but because it's a rival that challenges us for a top-four spot.
"You need to make sure in these types of games that you get all three points. "It means so much to everybody... That's a little bit of extra pressure on players as well and I think it's the kind of situation where your performance usually rises... The atmosphere makes it more special to players as well."
Arsenal are sixth in the standings, four points behind third-placed Tottenham and 12 behind leaders Manchester City, with six wins in 11 league games.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane said Tottenham needed to start beating the Premier League's top teams away from home if they are to mount a serious title challenge this campaign.
Despite their progress under manager Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham have won just once in 16 away league games against Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal under the Argentine, a 2-1 triumph over City in 2016.
Tottenham beat United, City, Chelsea and Arsenal at home last season, and drew with Liverpool, but their away record against the same opposition was underwhelming and Kane has urged his team to avoid a repeat of those results.
"It's important for us to start beating the big teams away. Not just Arsenal, but all of the top six," Kane told Sky Sports. "We've done very well at home against them in recent years, but if we want to be challenging for the title, these are the games we need to win away from home."
"We're going to try and win the game, we always do, but it will be tough. We need to go and play the way we play against them at home, and find a way to win."
Tottenham, who are third in the table, suffered their most recent away defeat against a top six side at second-placed United last month but both teams headed into the international break level on 23 points, eight points behind leaders City.
Spurs midfielder Eric Dier and playmaker Christian Eriksen captained England and Denmark respectively during the break and Pochettino believes that players developing their leadership skills will benefit the club in high-pressure games.
"That is so important for us. We need to create leaders, not followers and it's so important for them to feel that experience, to manage, be leaders and to be responsible," Pochettino told the club's website. (www.tottenhamhotspur.com)
"The players are still young but they need to start to feel what it means to be a leader."
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