With just four games remaining of the Premier League season, north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are starting to look ahead to the future.
Mauricio Pochettino looks set to miss out on a top four finish during his first season in charge, but the improved style of play and the emergence of Harry Kane have given Spurs fans reasons to be hopeful for the season.
Arsenal meanwhile are hoping for a second placed finish, having been the form team in the country over the second half of the season, whilst back-to-back FA Cups can be secured with a win over Aston Villa on May 30.
Arsene Wenger will be cursing his teams slow start to the season, but will hope lessons will be learnt in time for next season.
With both sides keen to push forward, we have decided to take a look back on some of their finest ever players, with this combined Arsenal and Tottenham XI.
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Click on Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino to reveal the best all time Arsenal and Tottenham combined XI
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David Seaman
It speaks volumes for the quality of David Seaman that Arsenal have struggled to replace him since he left the club way back in 2003 (bar a couple of decent seasons from Jens Lehmann).
‘Safe hands’ as he was known is firmly regarded as an Arsenal legend, being the undisputed number one for club and country during Wenger’s most succesful period at the club.
Seaman won twelve major honours in a career that spanned thirteen years with the Gunners.
The only grievance Arsenal fans can hold against him is that ridiculous ponytail he wore during his final two seasons at the club.
Lauren
Signed as a midfielder originally in the summer of 2000, Cameroon star Lauren would go on to become a key player for the Gunners in the successful years that followed. He pips Lee Dixon to the starting right back slot due to his consistency over the season in which the Gunners became the ‘Invincibles.’
He made his home debut in crunch clash with Liverpool at Highbury, where it took less than 10 minutes for him to open his account as the Gunners went on to a 2-0 victory.
A crucial match winning penalty against Tottenham will also be remembered as one of his Arsenal highlights.
Sol Campbell
As he has never been allowed to forget, Sol Campbell represented both sides of north London during his career.
Commanding, physical and a leader, it could be argued the Gunners have not had a centre back to replace him sufficiently since he left the club.
A key member of two title winning sides under Arsene Wenger – including the invincible side of 2003-04 – Campbell was also just minutes away from writing his name into Arsenal history with what would have been a winning goal in a Champions League final, until goals from Samuel Eto’o and Julian Beletti swung the 2006 final back into Barcelona’s favour.
Ledley King
The devestating thing for Tottenham supporters and King himself is the struggles the former Tottenham skipper had with injury.
In the end it lead to an early retirement, but when fully fit – there were few better Premier League defenders than King.
It was sad to see his career finish prematurely, as it will always be a case of wondering what might have been for Spurs had he been fit on a regular basis, whilst supporters of England were left wondering exactly the same thing, with King having impressed every time he pulled on the white shirt at international level.
Jan Vertonghen
Given the way Arsenal fans still feel about Ashley Cole, it is Belgian Jan Vertonghen who steps in to cover the left back position!
The Belgian has established himself as the best defender at White Hart Lane since his arrival from Ajax in 2012, and although he is most comfortable in the middle, he has shown he is more than capable of playing the left back role – whilst also popping up with a few important goals.
Vertonghen has often been linked with a move to a club offering Champions League football, however he remains vital to Tottenham’s hopes of breaking into the top four.
Robert Pires
The Frenchman was one of the top wingers in the game for a few years before injuries took their toll.
His pace and trickery down the flanks were crucial to Arsenal’s style of play in the early 2000’s, whilst he had a habit of scoring plenty of important goals – some of which were spectacular.
Wenger once again proved he had an eye for a bargain in the transfer market, paying just £6million to bring the World Cup winner to the Red half of north London in 2000.
Luka Modric
The Croatian signed for Tottenham in 2008, and signalled the beginning of another era in terms of Spurs challenging the top sides under Harry Redknapp.
Modric was an integral part of the new Tottenham, dictating the play in the middle of the park, classy on the ball and able to find a killer pass seemingly at will.
He also had the ability to score stunning goals – perhaps not as often as he should have done – but never the less he remained a class act in his four years at the club.
He left the club for Real Madrid in a deal worth £30million in the summer of 2012.
Patrick Vieira
Captain of the invincibles in 2003/04, Vieira typified everything the modern day midfielder should be.
A natural leader in the middle of the park, Arsenal have not had a player quite like him since he left for Juventus in the summer of 2005.
Vieira won two league and cup doubles during his time with the Gunners, whilst popping up with a vital goal against Tottenham as Arsenal claimed another league title in 2004.
His final kick for the club was the winning penalty against Manchester United in the 2005 FA Cup final – not half bad for a £3.5million signing.
Gareth Bale
Even though Tottenham recouped a world record £86 million for Gareth Bale, there is surely not a Tottenham fan who wouldn’t take him back for the same price if it were offered tomorrow.
Bale was sensational for Spurs, and is arguably one of the club’s all-time greats, with his performances in the Champions League under Harry Redknapp arguably the moments in which a star was born – his hat trick against Inter Milan in the San Siro a particularly special moment.
Bale carried Tottenham during his final two years at White Hart Lane, but failure to secure Champions League football saw him join Real Madrid in a world record deal.
Thierry Henry
Surely the greatest striker in Arsenal’s history and perhaps even the Premier League era.
Henry scored all kinds of wonderful goals, helped Arsenal to league titles, FA Cup’s and a Champions League Final and left as their record goal scorer.
Originally signed as a winger by Arsene Wenger, Henry went on to become arguably the finest striker in the world for a five year period.
His major regret will be failure to lift the Champions League as Arsenal captain, having reached the final of the competition in 2006.
Jermaine Defoe
Perhaps not the biggest name, but one of the Premier League’s most consistent goal scorers of all time.
Tottenham fans have fallen in love with Harry Kane this season, having watched the local lad fire more than 30 goals in all competitions.
Yet Kane has one good season under his belt, whilst Jermain Defoe scored goals consistently in the Premier League season upon season wherever he was, but particularly at Tottenham.
He pips fellow Spurs forwards the likes of Kane, Jurgen Klinsmann Robbie Keane and Teddy Sheringham to the forward’s position alongside Thierry Henry, having scored over 100 league goals in two spells at White Hart Lane.