Ahead of this afternoon’s north London derby, which will be Arsène Wenger’s 50th in charge of Arsenal, our manager has discussed the elements which help make the such a highly-anticipated fixture.

Tottenham have the chance to seal their first finish above the Gunners for over 20 years with a victory here, whilst keeping title aspirations alive for another week. Arsenal, on the other hand, will be eager to keep pace in the race for top-four places and understand that nothing less than an impressive performance (and win) is acceptable given their lack of consistency in recent months.

It will be Arsenal’s final clash at White Hart Lane, as Spurs are preparing a stadium move once this current campaign is complete.

As quoted by the club’s official website Wenger said, “Geographically, I know walking out that our fans are there on the right, that’s a reference point.

“Then you know the pitch is a bit smaller like Highbury and that you expect huge commitment, frenetic pace, very high vocal games.

“Of course, it makes the day special. I personally won’t miss White Hart Lane but what I like is the atmosphere.”

High-intensity, energetic matches are now the norm at WHL – especially during important fixtures against big opposition. There has only been one goalless draw in the last decade between these two, back in February of 2009.

23 goals have been scored in the seven meetings since, so it would be naive to expect any less than an enthralling encounter again on this occasion, given both sides’ respective situations in the Premier League table.

“What makes English football special is the fact that the fans live the game,” Wenger continued.

“For me, there’s two kinds of supporters, the supporters you get in some foreign countries who sing the same song during the whole game, or some different songs but not linked with the game.

“In England, the fans live the game every ball. When there’s a corner the sound goes up. When there’s a foul the sound goes up and that makes English football special and completely apart from everywhere else.”

Wenger will be naturally hoping that the set of Arsenal supporters in attendance today don’t have too much to shout about, despite many suggesting Spurs will run away with a convincing home victory.