Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham’s biggest London rivals are Chelsea, not Arsenal.
Spurs will square off against both sides in the next week, with the Blues traveling to Wembley to face them this Saturday.
After a midweek clash with Inter in the Champions League, Tottenham then travel to the Emirates to renew their rivalry with the Gunners next Sunday.
Spurs currently are sandwiched between their London competitors in the table, a point behind third-placed Chelsea and three ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal.
But while Spurs and Arsenal have historically been one of London’s fiercest rivalries, Pochettino believes Arsenal’s dip in performance in recent years has made the Chelsea clash a bigger match.
“It’s a good signal our fans want more every season and with rivalry, always you look at the teams above you,” Pochettino said.
“For us, Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham have been our biggest rivals. But I think that has changed a bit because of our positions in the table.
“In the last few years Chelsea were always on the top and Arsenal, after 21 or 22 years, were below us again.”
Tottenham finished ahead of Arsenal the last two seasons, and finished above the Blues last season as well.
A victory on Saturday would take them ahead of Chelsea in the table, and give them their first set of consecutive wins over the Blues in the league since 1987.
They are also looking to become the first team to inflict defeat on Maurizio Sarri's men in the Premier League this season.
