‘Arsenal have Still had a Better Season than Tottenham’

Despite going trophyless in the 2024/25 season, Arsenal enjoyed a better campaign than their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Ian Wright said on the Seaman Says Podcast, brought to you by Betway.

Spurs endured their worst Premier League campaign in recent memory, finishing 17th in the table with a staggering 22 losses from 38 games. In years past, relegated teams have gone down with fewer defeats and Spurs’ place in the top flight was secured only by the poor form of promoted sides Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton.

It is hard to imagine the Lilywhites being embroiled in a relegation battle, but they certainly would have been were it not for the three teams beneath them being so bad. Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has been under pressure all season for the club’s domestic inconsistencies.

The Europa League, certainly since the turn of 2025, has been Postecoglou’s saving grace. Despite having such a poor season in the top flight, the 2024/25 campaign also marked Spurs’ first piece of major silverware in 17 years, the club having beaten Manchester United in the Europa League final.

So, even with a 17th-place finish in the league, Spurs have not only ended their trophy drought but have secured Champions League football for next season in a truly polarising term. Though the club ended the campaign with a trophy, one legendary former striker feels that their arch-rivals had a better season.

‘There’s No Way You Can Compare’

Wright feels Gunners had a far better term

Speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, Arsenal legend Ian Wright explained that, while Spurs may have won a trophy, it can not be said that they had a better season than Arsenal. The Gunners finished as runners-up in the Premier League for a third-straight campaign, also reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. Wright said:

“We started the season trying to win the league and we’ve ended up second. Spurs didn’t start the season wanting to finish 17th. Man Utd finished 15th. So you don’t start the season saying ‘we want to finish 17th, stink the place out, win the Europa League and lose 22 matches.’ 22! Never been done before. I’m happy for the Spurs fans simply because they’ve got something to cheer, because they need it. Look at the season.

“They won the trophy. Arguably one of the worst games you’ll ever see in a European final. Terrible game, but they won it. And for the fans, hopefully it’s what they need, because a win changes the culture. I heard Ange (Postecoglou) say that, ‘if you finish third, it’s fine but when you win something, it changes the culture of what you want to do.’

“So it’s gonna be interesting to see what happens with them. But you can’t compare the seasons. That’s like you’ve put up a mural over a derelict building and then you just go and you say, ‘my God, it’s disgusting back there!’ That is exactly what it’s like.

“They’ve got to be happy that they’ve got something and they’ve saved their season and the manager may have saved his job. To win that, in the manner that they did, you’ve got to take it. But there’s no way you can compare them having the more successful season.”

Mikel Arteta, since being appointed Arsenal boss in 2019, has done a brilliant job with the club, guiding them out of the post-Wenger wilderness they found themselves in. The Gunners are once more established as a Champions League club, though the Spaniard will be all too aware that trophies need to come eventually.

For all of his good work, Arteta has not won a piece of major silverware since the 2019 FA Cup with Arsenal. There is certainly credence to Wright’s words, given there were 15 places between the North London sides, though it could also be argued that in the coming years, Spurs fans will remember their Europa League triumph far more favourably than Arsenal fans calling back to a second-placed Premier League finish.

(All stats are from Transfermarkt and are correct as of 30/05/2025)