‘I look up, not down’ – Jose Mourinho aims thinly veiled dig at Arsenal ahead of North London Derby

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has aimed a less than subtle jibe in the direction of Arsenal, ahead of the weekend’s marquee Premier League fixture.

Derby day

Rivalries are set to be renewed in 48 hours’ time, when Mourinho and co. make the short trip to the Emirates, for the latest edition of the North London Derby.

It is visitors Spurs who will head into proceedings in the better form of the two sides, having put a shaky spell firmly behind them courtesy of 5 successive victories over the last couple of weeks.

The latest of these came just last night, when the Lilywhites downed Dinamo Zagreb by two goals to nil to put one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

You just CANNOT make mistakes like that around Harry Kane! 😤

Terrific composure from the Tottenham striker who makes no mistake! 👏#UEL pic.twitter.com/loRcqJ4yjc

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2021

Arsenal, though, will too be buoyed by another crucial European victory on Thursday, when the Gunners got their revenge on Greek giants Olympiacos, courtesy of a 3-1 win.

‘I don’t look down’

As such, Tottenham will no doubt be wary of the threat posed by an Arsenal side more than capable of upsetting the odds on Sunday.

In turn, speaking during his latest press conference this afternoon, Jose Mourinho was inevitably drawn on the recent fortunes of his side’s upcoming opponents, with a particular emphasis on how the result could affect their respective positions in the Premier League table.

As things stand, Spurs hold a healthy advantage of 7 points and 3 places over their capital rivals.

And Mourinho couldn’t help but highlight exactly this gap on Friday, making use of the opportunity to aim a less than subtle dig at Arteta’s Arsenal:

‘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.’

The Portuguese continued:

‘At the same time, we look always to the next match and if instead of Arsenal it was [Aston] Villa or Newcastle – 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 derby. It’s a Premier League match, three points are there to fight for and that’s what we’re going to do.’

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Source: 101greatgoals.com