David Luiz says there is "no better opportunity" than a north London derby for Arsenal to prove their mettle after a dispiriting defeat at Liverpool put the brakes on their impressive start to the season.
Luiz was culpable for Liverpool's second and third goals in a 3-1 defeat that showed how far Arsenal are from being able to match the European champions. However the same could be said of their north London rivals, sluggish out of the blocks so far this term, and the Gunners are determined to give a better account of themselves after their defensive gameplan was not enough to earn them a point or better at Anfield.
Tottenham will travel to the Emirates Stadium fresh from their own early season frustrations, a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United coming soon after a contentious VAR decision saved them a point against Manchester City and Aston Villa came within 17 minutes of picking up a shock victory of their own.
Though Spurs did win at Arsenal in the League Cup last season they have not won a league match at the Emirates Stadium since November 2010 and there are question marks over whether key players Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen, with Mauricio Pochettino admitting his squad is "unsettled".
With their north London rivals enduring such difficulties Luiz is convinced that their visit is the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to bounce back from their defeat at Anfield.
"I think there is no better opportunity than that," he said. "I think we are going to play at home against a fantastic team, against a team who are going to fight with us until the end for the same goals, the same objectives.
"So we're going to do our best to win, especially because we are playing at home."
Luiz will be playing in his first north London derby but arrived at Arsenal with an impressive record against Spurs having been on the winning side in eight of 13 meetings, losing just two.
"It's going to be a tough game, I'm looking forward to that," Luiz said. "Especially when you lose a game, you want to play a game tomorrow if it's possible.
"We are going to work hard. It's going to be another tough, tough game against a fantastic team, they have signed new players, amazing players.
"So it's up to us to try to do our game, especially at home and win the game.
"I play football because I love football. That's why I'm still playing football, that's why I still have ambition and try to do big things in football.
"So it's going to be special for me for sure."
Luiz is expected to retain his place alongside Sokratis Papastathopoulos in an Arsenal defence that is likely to see at least one change from the side that lost at Anfield. Nacho Monreal is set to leave in the coming days, joining Real Sociedad for a minimal fee.
Sead Kolasinac is the logical successor to Monreal but is significantly more comfortable as a wing-back than in a back four. With Luiz also more at ease as one of three centre-backs Emery could consider switching his defence, adding Calum Chambers to the backline.
