Arsenal players ‘rate Mikel Arteta highly’ but boss must eradicate errors before facing ‘breathtaking’ Tottenham trio Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and Heung-min Son

George Graham has warned Mikel Arteta he must eradicate the silly mistakes from his Arsenal team before they face Tottenham's ‘breathtaking’ attack.

The Spaniard must prepare his Gunners side to face Spurs on Sunday in the second north London derby of this season, where they will have Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and Heung-min Son to contend with.

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While Arsenal have played plenty of silky stuff since Arteta arrived in December 2019, the continued errors leading to opposition chances have somewhat tainted his reign.

Granit Xhaka’s inexplicable pass straight into Chris Wood’s midriff at Burnley on Sunday cost the club two points in the Premier League, while Bernd Leno and Dani Ceballos shipped a cheap equaliser against Olympiacos in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Matt Holland watched the Gunners in Greece for talkSPORT 2 and believes continually making mistakes could even ‘cost Arteta his job’.

Playing out from the back is something the former Arsenal midfielder implores his goalkeeper and defenders to do.

Yet, former Arsenal and Spurs boss Graham believes failing to eradicate such costly mistakes will ultimately undo the good work Arteta is doing behind the scenes.

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“I like the way he has come to the club, I like certain things like how he wants to play his way,” Graham told Paul Coyte on SportsDay.

“Even though the players he has got could be improved. I’ve been hearing he does very well on the training ground; the players really rate him highly.

“I think it is just a matter of eliminating those big mistakes during those matches. Just recently, I’ve seen them play in certain areas of the game and they are outstanding.

“Then, all of a sudden, one of the players makes a mistake and they are punished for it.”

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Graham is no stranger to the magnitude and the intensity involved when red and white collide for north London supremacy, having taken charge of both clubs during his managerial career.

The Scot is clearly impressed with Arteta, yet he also had words of praise for Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese has come under pressure from some quarters for failing to sustain an early season title challenge for Spurs.

But Graham feels as though the attacking trident of Bale, Son and Kane are ‘spectacular’ when fully fit and firing, and that the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss can achieve success with his triumvirate.

“I think he will do a good job,” Graham added. “Everywhere he has gone, every country he has been in, he always seems to do well and win things.

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“I think he has done really well and he has a forward line now that, when you look at it, it is breath-taking isn’t it?

“If the three of them are playing at their best, they can be sensational. We all know how Jose is very defensive-minded; he’s quite solid when they are defending – a bit similar to myself!

“So if he can get the back three or four however he wants to play, and sorts out the midfield, he can just leave the forwards to get on with it.”