Derby loss still hurts Tottenham

21 November 2012 18:08

Tottenham defender Kyle Walker has insisted losing the north London derby against Arsenal will continue to sting his side.

Spurs went 1-0 up after 10 minutes at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with Emmanuel Adebayor opening the scoring, but the former Gunner was then sent off for a reckless tackle on Santi Cazorla to erase Tottenham's momentum and swing the match in Arsenal's favour.

Arsene Wenger's side stormed into a 3-1 lead at the interval, before they killed off the game in the second half, eventually winning 5-2.

Walker has admitted that the result 'still hurts now', but labelled it as one of those things and insisted the team will turn their fortunes around soon.

"You have ups and downs," the 22-year-old told the club's official website.

"For instance, I scored the winner against Arsenal last season.

"It's football and you have to deal with it. I'm sure we'll soon get through this difficult patch and be flying again."

Spurs will face Lazio in the Europa League on Thursday, with a victory at the Stadio Olimpico enough to send them into the knock-out stages.

With the Serie A side in good form, having beaten Roma and drawn with Juventus recently, Walker acknowledges the trip will be a tough one.

"We need to bounce back from the result at the weekend and give something back to the fans," he added.

"We'll go to Lazio, try to get a result and qualify.

"They are a good team and we saw that at White Hart Lane (a 0-0 draw in September).

"They are a typical Italian side, good in possession and clever, their movement is very good. We have to go there, play our game and carry out what we've been working on in preparation."