Tottenham’s primary goal is to challenge for the Premier League title, not finishing above Arsenal, according to Mauricio Pochettino.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has taken a subtle swipe at Arsenal by telling Football.London that Spurs essentially have more important targets than finishing above the Gunners.
Spurs beat Watford 4-0 last weekend to make it six league wins in a row and 11 home wins on the bounce, keeping the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Conversely, Arsenal are in disastrous form. The Gunners travelled to take on Crystal Palace on Monday evening, and were on the receiving end of a 3-0 thumping as things go from bad to worse for under-pressure boss Arsene Wenger.
It’s now six defeats in the last eight for Arsenal and just seven points picked up from a possible 24, leaving them seven points off the Champions League places and a whopping 14 points behind Tottenham.
Arsenal have finished above their North London rivals every since 1995, celebrating ‘St. Totteringham’s Day’ on an annual basis for more than 20 years – the day in which it’s impossible for Spurs to finish above the Gunners.
That couldn’t seem any more like a pipe dream right now, and whilst Arsenal somehow managed to finish above Spurs on the final day of last season, that doesn’t look like happening this time around given Tottenham’s huge advantage in the table.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
However, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has laid down the gauntlet – and sent a shot to Arsenal – by telling Football.London that, whilst Tottenham have waited so long to finish above the Gunners, that is far from their primary aim at this point.
Instead, Pochettino suggested that Tottenham’s main ambition is to push Chelsea all the way for the Premier League title, a clear sign of the remarkable progress Spurs are making under the Argentinian, with fans treating finishing above Arsenal as more of a welcome bonus in their pursuit of the title rather than the ultimate objective this season.
“I think we’re fighting for bigger things,” said Pochettino. “If we look at the bigger picture it’s to reduce gap with Chelsea,” he added.
Do you think Tottenham have now bypassed Arsenal under Pochettino?
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