Ryan Giggs backs Tottenham to prove they’re North London’s number one side in coming years

Follow us on Google Discover

Tottenham Hotspur meet Arsenal in the North London derby this weekend with three places separating them in the Premier League table.

Ryan Giggs has suggested to Sky Sports that Tottenham will need more than one victory in the derby to establish themselves as North London’s number one side, but added that Mauricio Pochettino’s men have the quality to prove themselves the dominant force in the coming years.

For most of the Premier League era, Arsenal have undoubtedly been the number one side in the area, winning three Premier League titles and finishing above Tottenham every year in the 21 seasons before last term.

However, Spurs have turned things around in recent years, finishing above the Gunners last season and now going into this weekend’s North London derby three places and four points ahead of Arsene Wenger’s men. And while Giggs suggested that it is too soon to say that Tottenham have now moved ahead of their rivals, he insisted that it looks to be on the cards in the near future.

“The north London derby always tends to be an entertaining affair, with a lot of goals and a lot of talented players, and I think it has been more interesting over recent years with the teams being evenly matched,” he told Sky Sports.

“Form often goes out of the window with derbies but Arsenal have tended to dominate, so Tottenham are naturally relishing getting some revenge.

“Spurs are the better team right now but to really have the upper hand they have to do it consistently over the new few years, although with the talented young squad they have I don’t see why that won’t be the case.”

With Tottenham not winning a major trophy since 2008, and Arsenal winning a handful of FA Cups in recent years, there will still be some fans who argue that the latter is still ahead.

But with Tottenham booking their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League after just four games in a group that included Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmud, and with Spurs guaranteed to be ahead of Arsenal in the top flight whatever the result in the derby, it appears that the tide has been turning for a while now.