Thursday 16 November 2017 12:30, UK
Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen has declared himself fit and ready for the north London derby.
Vertonghen has been struggling with a minor ankle injury in the last couple of weeks and was left out of Belgium's 3-3 draw against Mexico in Brussels last weekend.
But he came through the 1-0 win over Japan on Tuesday night unscathed and has given Mauricio Pochettino a major boost ahead of the game against Arsenal.
Speaking after the match in Bruges, Vertonghen said: "Yeah, nothing to worry about. I've been struggling for two weeks with it and that's why I didn't play against West Ham in the Carabao Cup but all good, I feel very good today, I am ready for the weekend."
With the internationals now out of the way, Vertonghen can concentrate on the trip to the Emirates live on Sky Sports on Saturday lunchtime and he is hoping for his first ever away win in the north London derby.
He added: "I can't recall I've won at the Emirates so that's what we're going for this weekend.
"Obviously we're doing well with Spurs, Arsenal as well, and it will be a good game.They are always good games, always positive games, always respect between us, two positives sides who make good games."
Vertonghen played alongside Thomas Vermaelen in the heart of Belgium's defence against Japan but the pair will now put friendships to one side as they focus on domestic rivalries.
Vermaelen added with a degree of understatement: "Well I hope Arsenal win, it's going to be a tough game, I look forward to the game.
"Big rivals, big games and all the players from both clubs look forward to playing them.
