Former Spurs man has revealed that he believes Arsenal are happy with finishing fourth because we view that as successful.
In an exclusive with Yahoo Sports, the retired midfielder spoke about the shift in north London. He accused Arsenal, a team always on the up, of now being on their way down while his former team is going in the opposite direction.
“The Arsenal I remember from the early days of my career, when I was playing for Newcastle for instance, were a team that always looked upwards,” he said.
“Trying to improve, to be the best, to make history. But somewhere along the line they took their eye off the ball. Instead they became happy to stick with what they’ve got. Namely, regular Champions League football.”
He went on to slate Arsenal’s ambition, claiming that we’re happy with fourth place.
“Arsenal have settled,” Jenas continued.
“They have decided that fourth position equals success, especially from a financial perspective. But by taking that stance, they have lowered the expectations of the club as a whole.
“Meanwhile, Spurs have been chasing a dream – and this season that raw ambition has propelled them beyond a point where even they expected to reach. And with it, beyond Arsenal.
“That’s why this is the first occasion in my time in football that I can look at a north London derby and predict with confidence that Tottenham will win it.”
The issue is, I can understand how it can look like that to outsiders. Every season we finish in either third or fourth place and because we don’t tend to challenge further than that, we come across as comfortable.
Perhaps we are, but I’d like to think this isn’t the case. This group of players need to have a winning mentality but the only one I can really see with that right now is Petr Cech.