How Arsenal can block out title race noise as they leap into toxic Tottenham cauldron | OneFootball

North London derby comes at a crunch moment in Premier League title race

At two Arsenal press conferences within the space of 48 hours, Mikel Arteta sought to lower the temperature.

There were no stern words either on Friday when Arteta looked ahead to this afternoon's north London derby.

This time, though, it was relatively flat. Arteta's primary message was that he loves his players, but there was little sign of that turning into tough love.

However, his answer to the final question was both telling and particularly apt ahead of the trip to face Tottenham.

Quizzed on how he could stop the noise surrounding Arsenal's title bid becoming deafening for the players, Arteta responded: "You ask them the question: ‘Do you want to be part of the noise? Or not?

Arsenal lost their cool after dropping more points against Wolves

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"If not go and do something else. Be part of a different club. Or do you want to be at Arsenal?

"And everybody has been demanding for 10 years, 15 years, that we need to go back there (fighting for the title), and now we are there, and now what? You don’t want noise?’

"Noise is part of it. The bullets are part of that. We try to deal with them in the right way and achieve what we are looking for."

It sparked memories of Granit Xhaka's far more angry message towards his team-mates in May 2022, after Arsenal had lost at Newcastle to surrender control of the top-four race to Tottenham.

"If you’re not ready or you’re nervous, stay on the bench, stay at home, don’t come here," Xhaka said.

"We need people to have balls - sorry to say that - to come here and play.”

This Arsenal side is far better than the one that limped home in the 2021-22 season and Arteta has not needed to question the desire on display.

However, there is a sense that the players almost want to win the title too desperately and that is manifesting itself in a fear that is freezing them.

It was a mental failure at Wolves to draw 2-2 from two goals up and a run of just two wins in seven league matches has gifted Manchester City a way back into this title race.

Arsenal have to keep calm heads and show they have the stomach for this title race. Right now, that is under serious scrutiny.

Arsenal's attack is not putting matches to bed. The tension is therefore allowed to grow throughout the match, which too often remains in the balance, and the opposition are given encouragement to get back into it.

Although they have perhaps been unfortunate to concede so many brilliant strikes from distance, their passive nature in not putting teams to the sword has allowed those wonder goals to have greater meaning.

Several big individual errors have not helped either and there cannot be any more of those against Tottenham.

Arsenal have to keep calm heads and show they have the stomach for this title race. Right now, that is under serious scrutiny.

The arrival of Igor Tudor has given Spurs a sense of a fresh start. The atmosphere is expected to be red hot, Spurs sensing the chance to land a devastating blow to Arsenal's title hopes.

A tifo will be unveiled ahead of kick-off and Dele Alli will be brought onto the pitch at half-time. Spurs have done everything to make it a cauldron.

The north London derby is a chaotic occasion at the best of times. That will only be added to by the circumstances at Spurs, and with Arsenal kicking off potentially only two points clear of City.

The atmosphere is a key factor the league leaders must cope with as they look to make a necessary statement.

However, it is the noise in the aftermath of the derby, the analysis and the dissections, that will be even more uncomfortable for Arteta and his players if they drop yet more points.

The derby is an occasion that will tell us just how ready these Arsenal players are to finally silence that noise.