LONDON – Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to “raise the bar” as the English Premier League leaders prepare for a defining moment in the title race against north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Gunners make the short journey to Spurs on April 28 looking to keep title rivals Manchester City at bay with a win.

They are one point clear of City (76), who are their biggest threat. Pep Guardiola’s men have a game in hand and will kick off at Nottingham Forest soon after the final whistle in north London.

After a damaging 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa earlier in April, Arsenal have bounced back by winning 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers and crushing Chelsea 5-0 in midweek.

But Arteta is well aware of the dangers posed by fifth-placed Tottenham, who drew 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium in September, and he called on his players to find another gear this weekend.

“Tottenham are super competitive at the moment. There is only one thing to do in this situation – compete, compete, compete,” the Spaniard said on April 26.

“We had some great results in the last two. That’s boosted the confidence of everybody. We’re in a good place and we know what we are going to have to do to win it and we have to raise the bar to match that.”

Every match is crucial now – Arsenal have four games left – and City responded to the Gunners’ emphatic win against Chelsea by crushing Brighton 4-0 on April 25. Guardiola’s side will be crowned champions for an unprecedented fourth successive season if they win their last five fixtures.

But Arteta is not concerned about City’s results, preferring to ensure his team are focused on their own performances.

“It’s another game that they managed to win in a convincing way, something that we cannot control, let’s do what we have to do,” he said of City beating Brighton.

However, with such a tight title race with Liverpool also still in it, it is difficult to separate Arsenal and City. Data analysts Opta rated Arsenal’s chances of holding off City at only 26.6 per cent, but Arteta laughed that off.

“I don’t know what to say. Maybe we can tweak the computer to make it a bit higher,” he said.

“Maybe it needs to update the software, we can help it to update the software and give it more tools. Hopefully, we can change that.”

Arteta’s men are hoping to win the title for the first time in 20 years after blowing an eight-point lead and seeing City lift the trophy last season. Title talk aside, the Gunners must first make sure they beat Spurs.

Arsenal famously won the league twice at Tottenham’s old White Hart Lane stadium – in 1971 and 2004.

They cannot clinch silverware on enemy territory this time, but a victory would keep them in the title hunt while damaging Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish.

Arteta has a virtually fully fit squad for the climax to the season with defender Jurrien Timber close to a return.

Over in the Tottenham camp, manager Ange Postecoglou insisted his team will stick to his attacking philosophy.

“We’ve had some inconsistencies and challenges this year, but when we’ve played well we’ve played a certain way,” said the Australian, who confirmed that Destiny Udogie and Oliver Skipp will miss the clash alongside long-term absentees Fraser Forster, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon.

“There’s no point now when you get to the most important part of the year to shy away or change your approach.”

Spurs had a two-week break since their 4-0 loss at Newcastle on April 13 and captain Son Heung-min has called for a strong response against Arteta’s side.

“We have to be ready. It will be a really good game to bounce back and obviously the motivation will be even higher than in other games, so I think we’ve got to just work hard and do our style of play,” he said. AFP, REUTERS