In the wake of a 5-0 thumping of Aston Villa, Arsenal now pay a visit to White Hart Lane with a view of registering their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions and Per Mertesacker wants the Gunners to repeat what they did last season at the very stadium.

"We have a very important away game. We are very close to each other in the league, are two London rivals. We did quite well at White Hart Lane last season, so will try to repeat that.”

However, the German defender admitted that their rivals would not let them take three points home so easily citing the emergence of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen to prominence.

“They now have a new manager and there has been some change in the squad. It will be a good game, with an early kick off, so we need to be fresh."

Thanks to their perpetual injury concerns, Arsene Wenger was forced to play his players out of position, especially Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Debuchy. The World Cup winner confessed that their dip was the outcome of injury concerns to key players.

"We suffered a lot at times with injuries, but also with results. With a deep squad, we now have that competition in our team and have an addition with a centre-back now, so I think we have a good squad at the moment."

Arsenal brought down Gabriel Paulista from Villarreal in exchange for £11.2 million and the Gunners vice-captain feels that he holds the key to the progress of the team as he reckons that injury crisis is addressed with his arrival.

"He is a talent and I think we will get him to the level he needs because he has that potential. It is very promising because we were short in the centre position. We suffered a lot and had to change so many positions.”

Injuries to Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini aided the Arsenal manager in identifying the beast in Francis Coquelin. With Lukas Podolski and Yaya Sanogo moving away from the London club, Chuba Akpom has also got a chance to prove himself in front of the Emirates Stadium crowd. The 30-year-old centre-back heaped praise on his young counterparts stating that they have made a real impact.

"They have played an absolutely fantastic role and will get the experience now. That is really important, when there is an injury crisis; they can step up and can have a real impact.”

Having drawn their reverse fixture, Arsenal now go into their second North London Derby of the season with a two-point advantage over their fiercest rivals.