Pochettino Urges Tottenham Stars to 'Show More' Ahead of North London Derby Clash With Arsenal

Mauricio Pochettino has called on his Tottenham Hotspur stars to locate their best form ahead of the North London derby clash with rivals Arsenal.

The Lilywhites make the short trip across the capital to take on the Gunners at the Emirates stadium on Sunday, but have hit a run of poor form at exactly the wrong time to face Arsene Wenger's reinvigorated side.

Spurs are winless in six matches in all competitions, and head into the encounter against an Arsenal side currently on a run of 15 matches without tasting defeat.

And despite insisting his side was in a transitional phase both on and off the pitch, in quotes published by the Daily Mirror, Pochettino urged his charges to resolve to turn their fortunes around - beginning with the lunchtime clash with their fierce rivals.

He said: We need to learn and improve. It is true we are very young and we are a team in a process - the club is building a massive stadium, an unbelievable stadium, a great stadium.

"It will be the best one in England or in Europe. The team is in the same process. We are setting the principles, finding a better way to play.

Mauricio Pochettino is bidding to become the first Spurs boss to go unbeaten in his opening FIVE #PL matches against Arsenal #ARSTOT pic.twitter.com/P1tcp6AygC

"The players can be here for the next few seasons but they need to show more to be here. We are in the same process as the club."

Tottenham mounted a serious Premier League title challenge throughout last season but, after remaining consistent for so long, saw their form dive off the edge of a cliff to eventually finish third in the standings.

That Arsenal pipped them to second place on the final day of the 2015/16 campaign only added to the disappointment for all associated with the White Hart Lane-based club, but Pochettino still expects his players to overcome their current wobble to push for the English top flight title once more.

October's 2-0 victory over league leaders Manchester City saw the Londoners praised by fans and media alike, but results since then have seen Spurs fall to fifth in the league, and Pochettino added that his side's dip in form could be down to a number of factors.

The Argentine said: After beating Manchester City we were the best and now we are the worst. Its always about balance. [Now we] try to maybe change something and to find a better way to play.

There are many things that happen sometimes in football that are too difficult to explain. Dele Alli, for example, has maybe dropped a little bit and is not scoring in the same way that he did last season.

But maybe in the last month he has been ill, he has had a cold and had problems. Maybe we have some injured players that we can't rotate and maybe some players are tired. That happens sometimes in football. Mixed together, maybe we have dropped our performance.�

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