Arsenal face their North London rivals on Sunday lunchtime at the Emirates, when Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal are all expected to be fit, and Wales star Aaron Ramsey, who has been kept out since the opening day by a hamstring problem and made his comeback as a substitute in the 4-1 win at Sunderland on Saturday and lasted 75 minutes in Sofia against Ludogorets in of a frenetic game said: “Of course it mattered finishing above Spurs last season. It’s been many years since they finished above us, so we didn’t want that to happen, and hopefully we can keep that going this season.
“Have we got a mental hold over Spurs? You would have to ask them that. They’ve been a tough challenge in the last couple of seasons.
“It’s a derby game, we know what to expect. They’re unbeaten in the league so far this season. It’s up to us to break them down. We’re at home and we’re full of confidence we can come away with a win.”
The Gunners are now unbeaten in 15 matches, since the opening-day defeat to Liverpool – their only loss in 25 matches going back to March.
That late burst saw them overtake their rivals from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road as Tottenham stumbled in the run-in, dropping three points from two goals up at Chelsea on May 2 to end their hopes of the title, then two successive defeats handing the runners-up spot to Arsenal.
That confidence has been boosted by a performance in Sofia that started horrifically but ended well, as defensive fragility was countered by attacking brilliance.
Ramsey said: “This team has been together for a while now, with a couple more additions. We’ve brought in quality. We know what we’re about.
“At the back end of last season we finished really strongly, and we’ve carried that on. The team is full of confidence.
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