Arsenal star gives his verdict on Spurs and warns of Dembele threat

Thursday, February 28, 2013
4:06 PM

Abou Diaby has praised Tottenham and singled out midfielder Mousa Dembele ahead of Arsenal’s trip to White Hart Lane on Sunday.

The Gunners make the short trip across north London in need of three points in order to keep pace with their rivals in the race for the top four.

Arsenal beat Spurs 5-2 at the Emirates back in November but Diaby is expecting a tougher test this time around, and believes the midfield battle will be crucial, particularly with Dembele pulling the strings for Spurs.

“He is very good,” Diaby told Arsenal Player. “I played against him when he was in Belgium and he was quite impressive, but since he joined Fulham and then Tottenham he has shown very, very good quality.

“If you have a strong midfield, it is 90 per cent you will win the game because it is the heart of the team.”

Diaby, who is rated at 50:50 to feature on Sunday due to a calf injury, added: “Tottenham have a new manager, with a new type of play and new philosophy and that has helped them a lot.

“They also have some very good players. All those elements make them really good at the moment.

“But it would be really important for us [to win at White Hart Lane] because we could get closer to them. It’s vital for us.”