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Tottenham legend Harry Kane - now at Bayern Munich - is the top scorer in north London derbies, with 14 goals Three years ago Tottenham beat Arsenal 3-0 and weeks later beat the Gunners to a Champions League place. It marked the sixth consecutive season that Spurs finished above Arsenal in the Premier League. Things have changed since then. The Gunners have finished above their north london rivals ever since and this Premier League campaign will go down as one of the worst in Tottenham's history. There remains a light on the horizon - with Tottenham looking forward to a Europa League final against Manchester United, knowing victory will give them a Champions League spot next campaign. But this won't stop the speculation about manager Ange Postecoglou's future after another hugely disappointing league campaign. "One has gone forwards and one has gone backwards – it's as simple as that, " said BBC pundit Danny Murphy. "That's mainly because Arsenal's recruitment has been better first and foremost, and also that they have had more consistency in terms of having the same manager to build under too. " This video can not be played I cannot give my opinion because I would be suspended - Arteta Harry Kane scored twice for Spurs and Son Heung-min netted the other in that Tottenham win. Rob Holding was sent off for Arsenal. A Gunners win would have sealed their Champions League spot with two games to spare, but they ended up losing their next game too and Spurs beat them to a top-four spot. The mood was high at Tottenham after Antonio Conte had taken them up from eighth place after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo in November. BBC chief football writer Phil Mc Nulty, who was at that game, said: "Tottenham Hotspur's decisive win pointed to a golden future under Antonio Conte. "Arsenal were frail and vulnerable, while Spurs were irresistible and looked in prime position to continue on an upwards curve under the inspirational Conte. "As so often, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were the inspiration. "Instead, it proved to be the high watermark of the Conte era. "The night of joy and celebration when Spurs swept aside their neighbours can now be viewed as another part of another false dawn. " Tottenham fan Anna Howells, a content creator for Spurs XY, said: "That day had so much promise, a united team with fans, a manager with a proven record, returning to the Champions League and Harry Kane scoring goals for fun - what could go wrong? " Arsenal have won five of the six derbies since then - with one draw. 'Perfectionist Conte belongs in Champions League' The inside story of Arteta's Arsenal rebuild A beautiful game was destroyed - Arteta This video can not be played 'I see selfish players' - Conte furious after Spurs let lead slip As it turned out, Tottenham could not keep Conte happy. He left by mutual consent in March 2023 after calling his players "selfish" and criticising the culture of the club. They finished eighth, and lost in the Champions League last 16 to Milan. There were big changes the following summer as in came Celtic manager Postecoglou, and out went the club's all-time top scorer Kane to Bayern Munich. "This is only Ange's second season, and before that you had Conte, and Mourinho before that, " said ex-England and Liverpool midfielder Murphy. "So since the end of 2019 Spurs have had three managers while Arsenal have had this stability under Arteta and they have given their manager time to build something. " It all started so well under Postecoglou, with Spurs top of the table and unbeaten after 10 games going into November. But a 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, with Spurs having two defenders sent off, sent them on a run of losing 12 of 28 games - and they missed out on a Champions League place by finishing fifth. Domestically, Tottenham have had a wretched season this time around. They sit 17th and are facing their lowest finish since they were in the second tier in 1977–78. Yet it could end up being their best season in terms of trophies since 2008, after setting up a Europa League final with Manchester United. "This season in isolation has been really poor, but they also missed out on the Champions League last season too, " said Murphy, who played for Spurs from 2006 to 2007. "They would have been really hopeful that they would have been as competitive again this time – fifth again this year would have got them in, but instead they have fallen off a cliff. " Postecoglou has repeatedly pointed to injuries, but there has not been an upswing in results since several of them returned. In the Carabao Cup they reached the semi-final, beating Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg before meekly losing the second leg 4-0 at Anfield. Murphy added: "I don't think it [their current situation] is a catastrophe for Spurs because they have got some brilliant young players and they have still got some good experienced players. "Their league form this season and their position is so far short of what that squad should produce and that is ultimately down to the manager. "I think this is quite an anomaly what has happened to them this season, with the injuries they have had and their lack of confidence at times. "What I think Spurs need to find is a balance between where they have been under Ange, and where they were in that season they finished fourth under Conte. " Spurs fan Howell said: "Looking back, the writing has been on the wall since we didn't back Mauricio Pochettino in terms of signing and going after the players he wanted. "That has been the case ever since, and each manager has inherited a squad that slowly but surely lost their identity along the way and there was always a 'big rebuild' needed. " "Spurs might have won the battle that year but Arsenal have absolutely won the war, " said Arsenal fan writer Laura Kirk. Arsenal kept faith in Arteta, who took over in 2019, and are set for their third second-placed finish in a row, having not finished that high since 2016 before. Kirk said: "Since Arteta has taken over Arsenal there has always been a very clear direction and identity in how he does things, and how he wants his team to play. "Building sustainable success takes time, even if it looks like it happened overnight. After Arsenal finished outside of the Champions League places in 2022, there then followed their first season genuinely challenging for the title. " Arsenal were eight points clear in April 2023, but a run of four games without a win - including a 4-1 loss at Manchester City - saw Pep Guardiola's team go on to take the title. Kirk continued: "That season might have looked like it came out of nowhere but success is not linear, and it was the result of small improvements over the course of Arteta's time at the club. "Getting to this stage has included ups and downs, but the general direction has been positive. "Arsenal clearly have faith in Arteta and could see this trend, even if the results weren't where we wanted to be back in 2022. " Arteta was backed in the transfer market in 2023 and brought in Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber for a total of about £200m. Last season they finished on 89 points, two behind champions Manchester City, and reached the quarter-finals in their first Champions League campaign in six years. This season they are second behind Liverpool in the league - and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League where they lost to Paris St-Germain. "Arsenal look in a much more competitive place, with a much-better rounded squad than Tottenham, that is there for all to see, " said Murphy. "Arsenal's progression and competitiveness over the past couple of seasons, finishing second and fighting for titles, and progressing better in the Champions League, is also because of the manager. " It is not all doom and gloom for Tottenham though, says Murphy - who played 29 times for the club. "If they do bring in a new coach - which I think they will do - who just changes and tweaks things a little bit, and gets them a little bit more defensive minded and brings in a couple of players, then they can soon be competing for those Champions League places again, " says Murphy. "I don't think Tottenham can bridge the gap to Arsenal in a summer but with the right appointment and some really good recruitment, why they can't be fighting for the top four or five next season? "I'd expect Tottenham to be back to what we've seen from them before this season. "Arsenal are at least a couple of years ahead of them, though. To close that gap again, basically Spurs need to do what Arsenal have done under Arteta. "The right managerial appointment, some really good recruitment and then the stability Arsenal have had in the past few seasons. 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