Mertesacker, Arsenal eyeing response against Tottenham

Per Mertesacker has warned his Arsenal team-mates improvement is needed against Tottenham if they are to maintain their Premier League title bid.

Arsenal welcome Tottenham to the Emirates for Sunday’s north London derby, four days after suffering a humiliating 5-1 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Wednesday’s rout in Munich left Arsenal on the brink of elimination and centre-back Mertesacker stressed the importance of avoiding another damning loss.

“We will learn a lot from this game, we must learn a lot and we have to play better against Tottenham,” said the Germany international.

“We need to switch on, put away negative energy and fight back. But if we are to beat Tottenham then we have to recover quickly.

“We have played well recently, defended well and that’s what we must focus on. We must remember those games, try to move on from this performance and focus on beating Tottenham. We have to analyse quickly and get players back quickly.”

Arsenal and Manchester City are level atop the Premier League standings on 25 points after 11 matches, though the latter are ahead on goal difference.