Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has admitted that Arsenal ’s title challenge makes him “feel sick” amid a disappointing season for his side.
The two North London clubs have endured differing campaigns this term. The Gunners are embroiled in a battle to claim the Premier League title alongside Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta ’s men currently sit four points clear of their nearest challengers ahead of Friday evening’s showdown with Southampton at the Emirates Stadium. Elsewhere, Spurs are stuck in a fight to actually get into Europe come the end of the campaign after a controversial season that has seen Antonio Conte leave the club in unacrimonious fashion.
Spurs are also set to end the campaign without a trophy - the 15th consecutive season in which they’ve failed to lift silverware under Levy’s stewardship. During a Q and A with the Cambridge Union last month, he reiterated his commitment to claiming a trophy, whilst also taking aim at Spurs’ bitter North London rivals Arsenal.
The 61-year-old said: “We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago with all our, we have about 750 staff in Tottenham, we got everyone together and we put up a big picture with lots of trophies in it. It is about winning, but winning dependent on the moment in time you asked that question to various people means different things.
“So when we first came in to Tottenham, winning was making sure we stayed in the Premier League. Then as time goes on and we got more successful it was about getting into the Europa League and then the Champions League. Obviously the ultimate is to win the trophies.
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“So that is clearly what we are trying to do. It’s easier said than done. Am I happy that we haven't won more than one trophy in the last 15 years? Absolutely not.
“But I also think we've had some fantastic times, being in the Champions League a number of times. Despite the fact I feel sick that there’s a club in north London that’s a bit higher than us at this moment in time, if I look back in the last five years we've also been higher than them. So that's what happens.”
As it stands, there are currently 21 points behind Spurs and Arsenal with seven games of the season remaining. At least a point against Southampton on Friday will guarantee the Gunners finishing above their North London rivals.
That will be the first time that Arsenal have finished above Spurs since the 2015/16 season where they pipped them on the final day of the campaign to finish second behind then-champions Leicester.
Meanwhile, the Gunners will be aiming to better that over the final weeks of the current campaign as they attempt to beat Man City to the trophy and lift their first title in nearly two decades.
