Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has rated Arsenal's summer signings and lauded manager Mikel Arteta ahead of the North London Derby on Saturday.
The Gunners currently sit top of the Premier League table heading into the game against Spurs, with their north London rivals just one point behind. Emile Smith Rowe is set to miss out after undergoing surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his groin and will be absent for the foreseeable future.
Arsenal remain hopeful that Thomas Partey, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu could all play a part against the Lilywhites on Saturday, football.london understands. Gunners' captain Martin Odegaard has been identified as a 'key player' that could be crucial to Arteta's side getting a result as they look to extend their lead at the top of the table.
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Speaking in his press conference ahead of the North London Derby, Conte said: "You know very well that these eight games that we are going to play, we have just started this league. For sure Arsenal had a fantastic start and they lost only one game against [Manchester] United.
"They are showing to be a really good team. I think that in the summer they made really good signings for them and improved the team that don't forget last season in the last three games they were four points up from us so it means we are talking about a really good team that in the last season we did a really good job to overcome them in the last three games."
Arsenal spent over £100million for a second successive summer bringing in Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos. Jesus has hit the ground running since arriving from Manchester City for a fee of £45million, scoring four goals and providing a further three assists in just seven appearances.
Conte continued: "At the same time I know the quality of this team. I know they are working with Arteta for many years, they are really well organised and Arteta I said last season he is a really good coach.
"He is young but he can have in front of him a great career. We know that Arsenal are one of the six teams that try to take the best position in the Premier League."
The Arsenal boss will be hoping his side can inflict revenge on Spurs after missing out on a top four spot at the expense of their north London rivals last term. The Gunners are targeting a return to the UEFA Champions League this season, either through winning the Europa League or finishing amongst the Premier League top four.
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