The Gunners were comfortably beaten 3-0 at Spurs last May, losing the impetus in the fight for a top-four finish and ultimately missing out on the Champions League. This season, however, Mikel Arteta’s side sit five points clear at the league summit and have lost just one of 17 games so far.
They make the short trip to Tottenham on Sunday looking to maintain their lead at the top of the table, with fit-again Smith Rowe admitting that loss eight months ago is still fresh in the memory. ‘We are going to train really hard and use the energy, how we felt last year, going into the game,’ he said.
‘I feel like maybe (we will use the defeat in the build-up to this game) but obviously most of us already know how it felt back then. A win would be massive for us. It couldn’t come at a better time. We are feeling really good.
‘All the boys know what it means to play in these kind of games. We are all going to rest up now and get ready for it.’
Smith Rowe returned to action as a substitute in Monday’s FA Cup win at Oxford, playing his first minutes since September 4. The 22-year-old had groin surgery to rectify an issue he revealed has been plaguing him since a loan spell at RB Leipzig in 2019.
‘A lot of people might not know but I have had this injury since I was 18, 19,’ he said. ‘It has been quite hard to deal with it over the years. But I am really happy it is just finally over.
‘I had a successful surgery and I am really feeling good. I’ve been itching to get out there and play with the boys. I hope I can make an impact.’
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