Mertesacker: Gunners ready to rule north London
Per Mertesacker has claimed his Arsenal side are determined to repeat last season's victory at Tottenham and rule North London again.
The Gunners beat bitter rivals Spurs three times last season in the Premier League and FA Cup and another victory in Saturday's lunchtime match would put them five points clear of the old enemy.
That would give them a huge boost in their battle to finish in the top four, andcentre-half Mertesacker believes they can do it again.
The German World Cup winner said: "Last season we did quite well at White Hart Lane, so we will try to repeat that. We are very close to each other in the league, we are two London rivals.
"Now they have a new manager, there has been change in the squad. It will be a good game, with an early kick off, so we need to be fresh."
Monreal monitored by Athletic Bilbao
Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal is a transfer target for Athletic Bilbao, the Spanish club have confirmed.
The 28-year-old has failed to nail down a regular starting spot at the Emirates since his 2013 arrival, often finding himself behind Kieran Gibbs in the pecking order.
And Bilbao president Josu Urrutia has revealed club are monitoring the situation, plus that of Cesar Azpilicueta at Chelsea.
The La Liga side have a policy of only signing players native to the Basque Country or neighbouring regions, with the Premier League pair fitting the bill - along with fellow targets Real Madrid's Asier Illarramendi and Atletico Madrid's Raul Garcia.
OPINION: Wenger can be happy with January dealings
Arsene Wenger would probably say his season is going well because there’s still plenty of games left in the Premier League, they’re in the fifth round of the FA Cup and have reached the last 16 of the Champions League.
I think if you asked the average fan, they’d be in a good mood this week but would probably mark it down as a C in old fashioned school marking terms.
Why? Because, while the season promises much, the first half of the season has been unpredictable and inconsistent. After last season’s flirt with the title race and the signing of Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal fans raised their hopes.
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