Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino admits Wednesday's League Cup tie with Arsenal is the kind of game which makes him wish he was still a player.

The Gunners come to White Hart Lane (kick-off 7.45pm) on Wednesday evening with local bragging rights and a place in the fourth round of the League Cup to play for.

Speaking to Spurs' website ahead of the game, Pochettino was asked if a fixture such as the north London derby was one he would want to play in if he could.

He said: "Yes, yes, [this is the kind of game I wish I was still playing in].

"For me, it was always important to play against your rivals in the derby matches. I always enjoyed playing this type of game. It’s always a special feeling.

"Derbies are special. It’s a different game. Our supporters have that expectation to win. It’s impossible to guess what will happen but one thing is for sure, we need to play at 100 per cent.

"We are ready and our motivation is big to play this game on Wednesday."

Spurs go into the game against Arsene Wenger's side off the back of three consecutive wins in the Premier League and Europa League whilst the Gunners were beaten 2-0 at Chelsea on Saturday and 2-1 at Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.

But Eric Dier, who has revelled in a defensive midfield role in the early weeks of the season, knows form counts for little ahead of a one-off game against Tottenham's fiercest rivals.

He explained: “Arsenal are a very good side but it’s the derby and everything goes out of the window – it’s a one-off game.

“It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past and we’re going to have to be ready.

"It’s a night game, though, which will really add to the atmosphere.

“Our fans were fantastic against Palace on Sunday and also last week in the Europa League, so we know we can look forward to having them right behind us again and hopefully we can get a good result.”

The Gunners will be without Francis Coquelin (knee), Jack Wilshere (calf), Tomas Rosicky (knee) and Danny Welbeck (knee).

Christian Eriksen returned to the fold for Spurs on Sunday as they eked out a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace but Pochettino will still expect to be without three midfielders: Alex Pritchard (ankle), Nabil Bentaleb (ankle) and Mousa Dembele (ankle). 

Ryan Mason, who injured his knee whilst scoring the winner at Sunderland two weekends ago, could return to the squad, though.