There's nothing more shameful to Tottenham Hotspur than being consistently behind Arsenal, and after flirting with the idea of taking over North London in the 2010s with Premier League and even Champions League title pushes, Spurs are still faltering in comparison to their biggest rivals.
Arsenal have the bigger stars and are making the more ambitious transfers, and while it's easy to meme Mikel Arteta for not winning major silverware whereas Spurs are coming off a Europa League title, the harsh reality is that Arsenal were Champions League semifinalists and second in the Premier League whereas Spurs were 17th.
And this summer, the gulf in ambition between these two historic Premier League clubs is obvious. Whereas Arsenal are signing a multitude of well-known players like Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi, all Tottenham have is a smart gamble on Mohammed Kudus. And they lost out on an obvious transfer, Thomas Frank's protege Christian Norgaard, to Arsenal in a heartbeat.
The latest player Tottenham and Arsenal have been trading blows for is London hero Eberechi Eze, who helped lift Crystal Palace to the FA Cup title last season without Michael Olise by his side. Eze is arguably the best attacking midfielder on the transfer market, and whereas Tottenham have cooled their interest in the 27-year-old, Arsenal have not.
Arsenal aren't done with just Viktor Gyokeres
Per a new report from transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal "remain in contact" with Eze, and the Palace star himself is still "keen" on joining the Gunners this summer. However, Arsenal have yet to engage in new formal talks with Crystal Palace, as they are focused more on making sales after introducing new striker Gyokres to the mix.
That delay should give Tottenham the impetus they need to reengage their own talks with Crystal Palace, especially since their deal for Nottingham Forest No. 10 Morgan Gibbs-White just collapsed spectacularly, bumping them back down to square one in their effort to sign another true game-changing Premier League attacking player.
Tottenham have been embarrassed by Arsenal too often on the transfer market. They need to take the positive momentum of winning a major European title last season and prove that they want more, investing in the squad and outcompeting with rivals like Arsenal.
As much as fans go back and forth, Tottenham and Arsenal should be around the same level. Tottenham should be beating Arsenal to targets on the transfer market as often as they lose to the Gunners, and as they watch as Eze expresses admiration for Arsenal through reporters, they have to light a fire under themselves and try to compete harder for Eze.