Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says he has empathy rather than any sympathy for Arsenal's own injury woes ahead of Wednesday's north London derby.
Already without leading players including Bukayo Saka and Ben White, Arsenal are now also without Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines after the Brazilian forward suffered a suspected ACL injury in Sunday's FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
Postecoglou's side have suffered their own injury horror run and head to the Emirates on a run of one win in their last seven Premier League games, a run that has them in 12th place in the table at the start of the midweek fixtures brought.
“I don't know, how much sympathy have they all had for me? I'm not really sure…” Postecoglou said when asked if he had any sympathy for Mikel Arteta after the news of Jesus' injury.
“I definitely have empathy, that's probably a better word.
“I understand how challenging it is for any team, regardless of size or quality.”
Since joining Spurs from Celtic in the summer of 2023, Postecoglou has lost two and led one of his three north London derbies.
He described Wednesday's match as “as big as it's ever been” and admitted his side needed to get back to winning ways in the league quickly, saying there would be “no better place to start” than the Emirates.
“You understand that it is an isolated match, because it means a lot to our supporters and to our club,” said Postecoglou.
“So that's the focus and that's what we need to concentrate on, in the sense that we really want to put in our best performance on the day so that we can make our supporters happy.
“It's like being in Glasgow, you are very aware and know what it means and the consequences of both the positive and the negative.
“I've been working on it since the first game. This year is as big as ever, especially for us and our season. We have to start winning games in the league and there's no better place to start.”
Richarlison back, but Werner out
During his pre-match press conference, Postecoglou offered hope that Spurs could overcome the worst of their injury problems, saying there was “hopefully some light at the end of the tunnel for us”.
For the first time since suffering a muscle injury in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa in November, Richarlison will be available for Wednesday's match, although Timo Werner will miss him with a hamstring injury.
'Only one has suffered an injury [against Tamworth in the FA Cup] was Timo. He suffered a hamstring injury,” Postecoglou revealed.
“Everyone else, other than being in pain, was fine. As far as income goes, Richy is available.”
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