Tottenham finishing above Arsenal should not be enough, says Jose Mourinho

Tottenham manager says north London derby rivalry means a lot to fans but should not be how the club judges their season as they head towards a fourth consecutive year in finishing above the Gunners

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has said finishing above Arsenal in the Premier League is a matter of pride for supporters, but the club has to aim higher.

Toby Alderweireld's 81st-minute header sealed a 2-1 victory against Arsenal on Sunday, moving Spurs up to eighth and two points above their north London rivals with three games left.

Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette put the visitor’s in front early in the first half, but the lead was almost immediately eradicated as a Sead Kolasinac mistake allowed Son Heung-min to capitalise and beat Emiliano Martinez to level the scores.

While Tottenham are looking to finish above Arsenal for a fourth straight season Mourinho said he would not be satisfied with that, with European football still very much the aim for the Portuguese.

"I have to be more ambitious than that," he said. "I don't want to look at it just as a fan that is happy to finish above Arsenal."

Spurs can secure a place in the Europa League by finishing sixth and Mourinho said he would be keen to play in Europe's second-tier club competition, which he won with Manchester United and Porto.

"It's not a competition that I'm in love with or like very much to play, but when you cannot play Champions League, you play Europa League," Mourinho added.

"In my career I only played Europa League twice, and I won it twice. It wouldn't be bad to play it a third time and to win it a third time."

Reuters