Davies claims the pressure is on Arsenal ahead of North London derby

Tottenham defender Ben Davies says the pressure is on Arsenal ahead of the pair’s pivotal North London derby in the race for Champions League qualification.

The Gunners are in the driving seat for a fourth-place finish and know victory would secure their seat back at Europe's top table next term following an impressive run of four straight victories.

But Tottenham earned a respectable 1-1 draw at title-chasers Liverpool on Saturday to ensure they enter the game just four points behind their neighbours.

And Davies, 29, thinks that has given his side momentum heading into Thursday’s blockbuster clash, which was originally meant to take place in January but was postponed due to coronavirus cases in the Arsenal camp.

The Welshman said: "It's a massive game. It's been building up to this for a while. Ever since it got postponed [in January], we've been looking at when this game would come because we knew it would be important in the context of the season.

"For us now, Thursday's huge. We know what we have to do going into it and there's no hiding from that. We have to go out and try to put in a similar performance as we did at Liverpool.

"We have to do whatever we can control. They've been on a fantastic run, you can't hide from that, but there's a lot of pressure on them to keep it up and do it in the remaining games. 

"We have to try to win the game, try to win our remaining games. It's not in our hands but we'll see what happens."

A resilient display at Anfield sparked a bitter reaction from Reds boss Jurgen Klopp over Antonio Conte’s defensive tactics as the title chasers struggled to carve out chances throughout the 90 minutes.

On the Italian boss, Davies added: "He's very calm [after matches]. You can feel there's pride there in how we played [at Anfield], how we stuck to the game plan but we'll analyse it in detail, see where we can improve and it'll be on to the next one. 

"There's no resting on good performances. We know we can get better."

Stadium's 'best ever' atmosphere

Earning plaudits alongside Davies in that performance was fellow defender Eric Dier, who is not underestimating the importance of Thursday’s encounter.

With it being the first North London derby in front of a full set of fans since Spurs moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the England international is confident a raucous atmosphere will await the two sides.

The 28-year-old said: "It is going to be a great game. A North London derby with both teams fighting for the Champions League.

"I am sure the atmosphere is going to be fantastic. It might be the best we have seen at the new stadium so I am really excited for that and hopefully we can give them a performance to match.

"In the Premier League things literally change game to game. You know things change all the time. There is still so much football to be played.

"We have to continue in this way, focus on ourselves, prepare in the best possible way for this game and finish the season strongly."