By Paul Hirst, Press Association
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Andre Villas-Boas is convinced that Tottenham have what it takes to overcome Arsenal on Sunday as he prepares for his first north London derby without Gareth Bale.
Bale has been a crucial figure in Tottenham's recent derby success over Arsenal, scoring three times in the four derby wins he has tasted since moving to White Hart Lane in 2007.
But Spurs will have to do without their talisman on Sunday as he is nearing a world-record move to Real Madrid.
Sign of the past: Tottenham Hotspur's manager Andre Villas-Boas and Gareth Bale's working relationship looks to be at an end
On his way out: Spurs' Bale looks set to join Real Madrid
Confident: Spurs manager Villas-Boas is certain his side can flourish without Bale
Tottenham have fared well without Bale so far, winning all four of their opening matches without conceding a goal following a summer spending spree that looks set to break the 100million barrier over the weekend.
That has left Villas-Boas in a confident mood ahead of Sunday's game at Arsenal, who are yet to spend a penny in the market so far this summer.
'We have the quality to go there and win,' the Tottenham manager said.
'I think we will set up to try to win the game and hopefully achieve the result we want.'
Tottenham maintained their 100 per cent record on Thursday night with a 3-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi at White Hart Lane.
Great start: Spurs have won their two opening Premier League games thanks to goals from Roberto Soldado (centre), who celebrates with his team-mates after scoring against Crystal Palace
In truth, Dinamo were hardly tough opposition for Spurs - that much was evident last week when the Londoners won 5-0 in the Georgian capital.
Tottenham have only just scraped by in their opening two league matches too, with penalties from Roberto Soldado securing 1-0 victories against Crystal Palace and Swansea.
Villas-Boas' starting XI still lacks that bit of creative magic Bale brings to the table, but the Portuguese hopes to remedy that in the coming days by signing Christian Eriksen from Ajax.
He has completed the signing of Roma forward Erik Lamela for a club-record 30m.
In at the Lane: Roma striker Erik Lamela, left, has signed for Spurs
Going Dutch: Spurs are hopeful of signing Christian Eriksen from Ajax
When asked whether Tottenham would have to up their game to win on Sunday, Villas-Boas replied: 'Yes. It is a different type of proposition on Sunday but it has special ingredients of a game that is unique in English football and full of emotion.
'Hopefully, if we set up properly, the match for sure will be a great game, because both teams want to play, want to win, want to attack, and hopefully it can be a present for the fans.'
Theo Walcott started the verbal sparring between the two teams earlier this week when he dismissed suggestions that Arsenal have a weaker squad than Spurs, even though his team have only signed Mathieu Flamini and Yaya Sanogo on free transfers this summer.
Over to you AVB? Arsenal's Theo Walcott dismissed suggestions his side were weaker than Spurs
Villas-Boas was reluctant to be drawn into an argument with Walcott, but the Spurs manager conceded that Arsenal do have the advantage of having a more settled squad thanks to their inactivity in the window.
'Our objective is to be stronger,' Villas-Boas said when asked about the Arsenal winger's claim.
'The advantage that they have is that they know each other very, very well from the past because they are a side that has been built together for these last years and, without having new faces, they don't have to worry about building something.
'They're already in there, the Arsenal way of playing.
'And we have lots of new faces and still have to build our own style of play.'
Villas-Boas will assess Aaron Lennon over the next 24 hours to see if the winger has recovered from the foot injury that has kept him out of the last two matches.
Pushing for recalls: Lewis Holtby (left) and Jermain Defoe impressed ahead of the game against Arsenal
Jermain Defoe and Lewis Holtby are pushing for a place in the starting XI after impressing in the Europa League on Thursday.
Tottenham will clock up around 8,500 miles on their travels in the group stages after being handed a logistically challenging draw for the group stages on Friday.
Spurs will have been draw in Group K along with Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, who are from Dagestan but usually play their European games in Moscow, Moldova's FC Sheriff and northern Norwegian side Tromso.
Tottenham have signed some good players and have as much or more depth than a team could possibly need. But, you play with 11 players at a time, and the starting 11 that line up for Arsenal at the are of greater quality than the tottenham starting 11. People seem to forget that. I rate some of their new players like Lamela, eriksen and chadli quite highly but no one in their right mind would take them over someone like Santi Cazorla. Arsenal need to bring in multiple players to add depth and back up, but we alreay have a quality line up that can beat anyone on their day. COYG
- simonAFC5 , Adelaide, 31/8/2013 03:50
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