Spurs star out to prove Arsenal boss wrong

Lucas Moura is determined to prove to Unai Emery that he deserves to play regularly for a big team.

Moura endured a difficult time at PSG when Emery was in charge and rarely played under the now Arsenal boss in what he described as “the worst seven months” of his career.

The Brazilian who joined Tottenham in a £25million deal (BBC) last January from the French side stopped short of criticising Emery and is instead putting his energy into proving that he has the quality to succeed.

He has instead used the tough last seven months of his four-year tenure at the Parc des Princes to learn and grow as a player, rather than become bitter about the treatment he received from the Spaniard.

Moura will be hoping to be named in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting line up for the North London derby against Arsenal on Sunday at the Emirates, but faces competition from the likes of Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen.

“I need to respect the decision of the coach,” Moura told Sky Sports. “I know that it’s difficult for him because he needs to choose 11 players to play.

“I don’t like to look behind. I like to look forward to what I can do, what I can win. I have nothing against Unai, I respect him. He is a very good coach.

“I try to show it [and] him at Spurs [that I deserve to play for a big team]; to enjoy the life because I love to play football. I forgot the last five or six months that I had at PSG.

“I like to think about the four years when I was very happy there and I won a lot of trophies. The last year was to learn and grow up. Now I think I am a player more experienced and more strong.”