Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists the meaning of Sunday's derby against Tottenham remains as crucial as ever for fans.

Even without the usual red-hot atmosphere with the game behind closed doors on Sunday, he insists he will never lose sight of what it means to beat the arch enemy.

“You could sense the days before the game that the energy was rising, the expectations and how much it means for the people to defend the badge and the shirt that we are representing," said the Arsenal manager.

“I was involved in some really good ones. There was a lot of goals, a lot of excitement and the result changed hands a lot of times.

“The players need to understand how much it means to people, those kind of derbies and if we are winning or go on to win then we will make a lot of people happy."

Arteta added: “It's going to be a completely different game on Sunday. We are delighted to be back playing football but without the fans it's not the same experience, not the same memory and it cannot be the same game."