Ahead of the visit of Tottenham Hotspur for the north London derby on Wednesday, Mikel has challenged everyone on and off the field to make it a night to remember by creating the best-ever atmosphere generated at Emirates Stadium.
N5 has been an area of north London that Spurs haven’t enjoyed visiting for decades, having won just one of their last 31 Premier League visits and are winless in the last 13.
A huge part of that has been the fever whipped up by the home crowd, keen to ensure that proud record remains intact and allows them to keep enjoying the bragging rights. And with us looking to complete a league double over Tottenham for the fifth time in the Premier League era, Mikel wants to raise that bar even more as he looks for new levels of support.
“It’s probably the nicest game of the season to watch because of the atmosphere, because of what it means to our people, what it means to us and everybody involved in the game. This is something that is in our hands,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“Let’s create the best atmosphere that we have played at the Emirates, that’s our objective. That's something that we control, the players, the staff, and everybody that turns up tomorrow. This is something that we can do, so let's do it.”
A derby day under the lights on our own turf will be a new experience for many of our squad, especially some of the youngsters who could be involved after breaking through this campaign, plus some of the newer recruits.
When asked if he needed to educate them on the rivalry, the passion and what it means to all Gooners, the boss revealed that the buzz around the Sobha Realty Training Centre indicates that everyone is well aware of this fixture’s history and importance, especially as we aim to get back to winning ways after a difficult week.
“We spoke with Ethan [Nwaneri] and Myles [Lewis-Skelly], as well as all players and a lot of the staff,” he added. “You can feel it straight away when you are in the building that the big one is coming up and that excitement is around the building. They can feel it and they know about it.
“This is a more challenging period that we’ve had, especially as we’ve lost very important players in crucial moments, but things happen for a reason in this life. We have to adapt, and with everything that has happened, look how the team performed. OK, we didn’t win the other day, but if you have to go out of a competition, let’s go out like this when you have been infinitely better than the opposition.
“On Wednesday we have another one. It’s probably the best time to play, because we know what that game means for all of us. So, let's face it, the circumstances are where they are, let's embrace them and let's get the best out of that.”