Granit Xhaka says Arsenal are ready for Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham after recording a remarkable Champions League comeback win against Ludogorets Razgrad.
Arsene Wenger's men were 2-0 down within 15 minutes in Sofia on Tuesday night, but Xhaka and Olivier Giroud drew the Gunners level against their Bulgarian hosts before half-time.
Mesut Ozil broke the offside trap and burst onto Mohamed Elneny's through-ball with two minutes remaining before flicking the ball over goalkeeper Milan Borjan, rounding two defenders and netting one of the goals of the season to put Arsenal into the knockout stages of the competition.
Xhaka got the ball rolling with the first of Arsenal's three goals - his third for his new club - and says the victory in Bulgaria was key as the Gunners prepare for Sunday's derby against potential Premier League title rivals Spurs.
Ludogorets vs Arsenal: In Pictures
“We expected that kind of game,” the Switzerland international told the club's official website.
“We knew that it would be difficult here, and that many teams have had big problems here in the past.
"In the first minutes we weren’t awake, but after that we came into the game better.
“The home and away games were very two different matches. It’s always different to play a team at home as opposed to away.
"Today Ludogorets played a very good match, but what’s important is that we won the game.
“It’s not just important for us players but for the whole club and for the fans.
"Keeping this momentum up ahead of Sunday was vital and of course we want to beat Tottenham.”
Aaron Ramsey made his first start in more than 11 weeks against Ludogorets, and insists he is fit to start against Spurs despite playing just 88 minutes of first-team football since the opening day of the season.
"I’m ready to face Tottenham,” Ramsey told Standard Sport. “I wouldn’t have been out there starting last night if I wasn’t ready. It was great for me.
"I’ve been out injured for a couple of months now and it was nice to be back starting again and getting 70-odd minutes. That will put me in good shape going into the weekend and hopefully I can stay fit.”
Spurs prepare for the north London derby with a vital Champions League clash against Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley Stadium tonight.
