Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino’s arrogant Arsenal comments come back to bite him

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On Sunday afternoon at the Emirates, Tottenham Hotspur were humbled 4-2 at the hands of Arsenal.

Just over a week ago, Mauricio Pochettino had raised eyebrows when he suggested Tottenham’s match against Chelsea was now a bigger occasion than the north London derby.

Yet after Arsenal’s statement victory, Pochettino’s arrogant comments have come back to bite him.

In comments reported by Goal in November, the Tottenham manager indicated that because of Arsenal’s recent struggles in the Premier League, the fixture against Chelsea has overtaken the derby match in terms of importance for Spurs.

“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,” Pochettino told Goal. “In the last few years Chelsea were always on the top and ­Arsenal, after 21 or 22 years, were below us again.”

Although Spurs handled Chelsea with ease at Wembley with a 3-1 win, Pochettino’s men fell to defeat at Arsenal after throwing away a 2-1 lead.

With the north London derby always featuring heightened intensity, passion, and pace of play, it appears Mauricio Pochettino was naive in suggesting that Chelsea had become Spurs’ biggest rivals — especially after Tottenham’s defeat against the Gunners.