Jose Mourinho has delivered a swipe at Tottenham’s bitter rivals Arsenal.
Mourinho says Spurs are now “looking down” on Arsenal after a major power shift in North London.
Tottenham boss Mourinho can see his team move ten points ahead of Arsenal with victory in the derby on Sunday which would surely see them finish ahead of their North London rivals for a fifth year running.
Mourinho said: “I look up, I don't look down. If Arsenal was seven points ahead of us, I would look to them. But because we have seven points more than them, I don't look down.
“But at the same time, we always look to the next match and if instead of Arsenal it was Villa or Newcastle, the next matches we're going to play, exactly the same feeling.
“We feel we're better than the position we have in the table and we want to improve our position so we need points for that.
“It doesn't matter the opponent, doesn't matter if it is a London derby – in fact it's the fourth in a row in the Premier League. It's a Premier League match, three points are there to fight for and that's what we're gong to try to do.”
Arsenal finished above Tottenham for 22 years running and dominated North London during Arsene Wenger’s reign but the Gunners have now been left trailing in their wake.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is clinging to the Europa League as their last chance of silverware and getting back into Europe next season otherwise they face missing out on European place for the first time since 1995/96.
But despite the current gap between the clubs, Mourinho stressed he respects the job Arteta is doing and their previous success.
Mourinho added: “I'm very proud to be at Tottenham, I have the feeling every day that I work at a big cub.
“But in spite of the rivalry between us and Arsenal I want to be respectful. Arsenal is a big club with a big history, a little bit like us they're trying to build a better future. I have total respect for them.”
