Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang believes a north London derby date with Tottenham can be a “turning point” for Arsenal, with the Gunners seeking to bring their Premier League “frustration” to a close.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been making positive progress in their Europa League campaign this season, but domestic momentum is proving difficult to establish.
Arsenal are off to their worst start in 39 years, with all too familiar issues regarding a lack of consistency rising to the surface once more.
The Gunners find themselves languishing in 14th spot as a result, with a spark required from somewhere before top-four dreams start to fade.
Aubameyang feels the club’s next outing can provide a much-needed springboard, with there set to be much more than just three points on the line when two arch-rivals lock horns on Sunday.
“I think this is the game that we have to make into a turning point for us this season,” Arsenal’s captain told reporters heading towards a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“There’s nothing better than this game to give you that opportunity to turn things around. We have to understand that if we can win this game then everyone will change their mindset.
“A big result in the derby can really lift the players, the fans - everyone. We know it will be a tough game, they are playing well at the moment to tell the truth, but we have to take care of our game, how we want to play the game, and make it all about us.
“We are waiting for this game - we need to give everything to get the win and change our situation.”
Arsenal hit a new low during their last Premier League fixture, as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Wolves, and Aubameyang – who has just four goals to his name this season – admits that collective standards need to be raised at Emirates Stadium.
The Gabonese striker added: “We were not happy with our performance at the weekend against Wolves.
“I think we showed two different faces in that match. We completely missed the first half, we didn’t play our usual game, how we want to play, and of course this is really disappointing for us.
“There’s a lot of frustration because we know we can do a lot of things much better than we did.
“In the second half we showed more that we are capable of putting the opponent in difficult situations, we created some opportunities to score goals, but in the end we couldn’t do it.
“I think the behaviours were better in the second half, though. For whatever reason we were not at a good enough level in the first half. We know that, and we know what we have to do better from now.
“More games are coming quickly now, and the good news is we know exactly what we have to change. So it’s up to us to do it.”