Tottenham players not motivated by beating Arsenal in Premier League table, says Hugo Lloris

Spurs finished the 2018-19 season in fourth place, one point ahead of Arsenal, outperforming their closest rivals for the third season in a row

Tottenham have not been motivated by a desire to finish above Arsenal in the Premier League, according to the club’s captain Hugo Lloris, and are focused only on closing the gap to the best teams in Europe.

Spurs finished the 2018-19 season in fourth place, one point ahead of Arsenal, outperforming their closest rivals for the third season in a row. Fans of both clubs have enjoyed outdoing one another in the Premier League, with the name ‘St Totteringham’s Day’ teasingly assigned to the moment in a season when Spurs can no longer mathematically catch Arsenal, but it is the red half of north London which has been playing catch-up in recent years.

Tottenham players have made little mention of Arsenal’s campaign, and with both sides now looking forward to European finals – Spurs in the Champions League against Liverpool, Arsenal in the Europa League against Chelsea – Lloris insists they are more motivated by catching the very best teams in the world than beating their nearest neighbours.

“We don’t look at that type of thing,” Lloris said of the comparison with Arsenal. “It probably can satisfy some people but it’s not the case for us. From the first day that the gaffer arrived, we always wanted to build something strong, be competitive in PL and in European competition. This is what we’re doing step-by-step. The target is still the same: to reduce the gap with the best clubs in Europe and I think we’re going in the right way.

“It’s like in life: you don’t have to look at your neighbour and compare. You need to think about and be focussed on yourself to make a success of your life and develop and improve as a person and a professional. This is what we’ve done and we don’t want to stop. Every person tries to develop themselves and the best way is to be focussed on yourself and not your neighbour.”

The Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke frankly last week about the club’s need for “a new plan” to reach the next level over the coming years, in what appeared to be a warning to the club’s hierarchy to match his ambitions.

“I completely understand what the gaffer means,” Lloris said. “I’ve been with him for five years, I’ve seen many things and we’ve lived through different situations and tried to deal with them. I completely understand because he’s someone very ambitious and he knows and wants to know where we’re going and where he’s going. It’s only between him and the board that type of discussion.”