Ange Postecoglou vows to "scare the life" out of Arsenal

The Australian will experience his first taste of an Emirates derby day atmosphere this weekend, and Spurs head into the clash with their bitter rivals sat two places higher than the Gunners in the table.

Both Arsenal and Tottenham have gleaned 13 points from their opening five fixtures, but Tottenham's superior goal difference has Postecoglou's men sitting pretty in second spot as Lilywhites fans revel in the 58-year-old's philosophy.

Following the pragmatic styles of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte - which yielded little success despite their previous trophy-winning experience - Spurs have been given a new lease of life in the final third under Postecoglou, scoring at least twice in all five of their Premier League games so far.

However, questions have been raised over how Postecoglou might approach Sunday's derby, as Arsenal have struggled more against deep blocks this season than they have against high-pressing, aggressive sides.

The Gunners only just scraped a 1-0 win over Everton last weekend, but they continuously found gaps in the high line of PSV Eindhoven to thrash the Dutch giants 4-0 in their Champions League opener.

Nevertheless, Postecoglou has promised not to abandon his attacking principles no matter who Tottenham come up against, telling the Evening Standard: "In terms of the way we play, we're not changing, mate. We'll go out and scare the life out of them."

Elaborating on his approach in his pre-game press conference, the Lilywhites boss added: "Well, there is no other reason that we play this football than to be successful, so if I didn't think we would be successful I wouldn't play it.

"From my perspective, I have often said I don't set up my teams to play football that is nice to watch. I set up my team to play football that will win. You have to believe in that against all oppositions, in all kinds of circumstances.

"There are always tweaks that happen because the opposition will force you to adjust certain parts of your game, but the underlying principles of the kind of team we want to be, no I will not shy away from it now because we're facing a good team. We have to go out there and challenge ourselves to play the football we have so far against one of the teams that will be challenging for the title."

Tottenham will travel to the Emirates without long-term victims Bryan Gil, Ryan Sessegnon, Alfie Whiteman and Rodrigo Bentancur, while Giovani Lo Celso is still out with a thigh strain, and Ivan Perisic has now entered the treatment room with an ACL injury, which will require surgery.

The Croatian could have played his final game in a Tottenham shirt ahead of the expiry of his contract in 2024, and Postecoglou labelled Perisic the "ultimate pro" as he begins the long road to recovery.

"Yeah, disappointing - firstly for Ivan more than anything else. One of those innocuous things that can happen sometimes. He got a pretty significant injury from training," Postecoglou added.

"Disappointed for him because, and I've only worked with him a short time, but you can see why he's played at some of the world's biggest clubs in the world and why he's maintained such a level of performance for so many years. He's the ultimate pro in the way that he trains and presents himself."

Spurs have won just one of their last five North London derbies with Arsenal, who have not lost to the Lilywhites on home soil in the Premier League since 2010.