Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal forward Paul Merson sees tonight's Carling Cup semi-final against the Gunners as actually Tottenham's cup final.
The bitter north London rivals clash over two legs starting at the Emirates tonight, with the prize at stake a place in the Carling Cup final - the first to be staged at Wembley since Leicester beat Tranmere there in 2000.
The semi-final is a repeat of last year's when Arsenal and Spurs - then managed by Martin Jol - went head-to-head, Arsenal coming from two down to draw 2-2 at White Hart Lane, then winning the second leg 3-1 after extra-time to set up a final in Cardiff against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, who won 2-1.
Now the wily Juande Ramos is in charge of Tottenham, who are looking to end a nine-year trophy drought.
Indeed, Spurs are also seeking their first win against Arsenal for eight years - 20 matches ago in all competitions.
And Merson told Sky Sports News that simply beating Arsenal after so long is the most important objective as far as Tottenham's long-suffering fans are concerned.
"It's massive - just to beat Arsenal," said the man who scored 99 goal for Arsenal in 425 competitive first-team games between 1987 and 1997.
"If they can just beat Arsenal and get in the final I don't think they would really worry about the final!
"That would be massive for them - they need to beat Arsenal sooner rather than later. It's getting a bit of a joke now to be fair.
"It's been a long time and it wasn't always like that years ago, it just shows you how much the pendulum has swung.
"It would mean so much to Spurs. I don't know about to Ramos, but for the Tottenham fans I think they'd rather come fourth bottom (in the Premier League) and beat Arsenal in this!"
Arsene Wenger has made it clear he intends to continue with his policy of playing his younger, less experienced players in the Carling Cup.
Many of them are looking to make amends for last year's final defeat at the hands of Chelsea, a match they dominated for the first hour but couldn't put beyond the Blues.
Players such as Armand Traore, Denilson and Justin Hoyte have earned plaudits for their performances in knockout competitions, but it's also about winning trophies - and the Gunners are seeking their first silverware since lifting the FA Cup in 2005.
Because of that, Merson believes, Wenger's young side are also under pressure to produce the goods.
"They've done outstanding," he said. "But the good teams have to win trophies - it's so important to win trophies.
"That's why I think this game's a massive game for Arsene Wenger, because if he gets a trophy on the board with this young team it teaches them how to win things.
"And then they can move on to bigger and better things."
The bitter north London rivals clash over two legs starting at the Emirates tonight, with the prize at stake a place in the Carling Cup final - the first to be staged at Wembley since Leicester beat Tranmere there in 2000.
The semi-final is a repeat of last year's when Arsenal and Spurs - then managed by Martin Jol - went head-to-head, Arsenal coming from two down to draw 2-2 at White Hart Lane, then winning the second leg 3-1 after extra-time to set up a final in Cardiff against Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, who won 2-1.
Now the wily Juande Ramos is in charge of Tottenham, who are looking to end a nine-year trophy drought.
Indeed, Spurs are also seeking their first win against Arsenal for eight years - 20 matches ago in all competitions.
And Merson told Sky Sports News that simply beating Arsenal after so long is the most important objective as far as Tottenham's long-suffering fans are concerned.
"It's massive - just to beat Arsenal," said the man who scored 99 goal for Arsenal in 425 competitive first-team games between 1987 and 1997.
"If they can just beat Arsenal and get in the final I don't think they would really worry about the final!
"That would be massive for them - they need to beat Arsenal sooner rather than later. It's getting a bit of a joke now to be fair.
"It's been a long time and it wasn't always like that years ago, it just shows you how much the pendulum has swung.
"It would mean so much to Spurs. I don't know about to Ramos, but for the Tottenham fans I think they'd rather come fourth bottom (in the Premier League) and beat Arsenal in this!"
Arsene Wenger has made it clear he intends to continue with his policy of playing his younger, less experienced players in the Carling Cup.
Many of them are looking to make amends for last year's final defeat at the hands of Chelsea, a match they dominated for the first hour but couldn't put beyond the Blues.
Players such as Armand Traore, Denilson and Justin Hoyte have earned plaudits for their performances in knockout competitions, but it's also about winning trophies - and the Gunners are seeking their first silverware since lifting the FA Cup in 2005.
Because of that, Merson believes, Wenger's young side are also under pressure to produce the goods.
"They've done outstanding," he said. "But the good teams have to win trophies - it's so important to win trophies.
"That's why I think this game's a massive game for Arsene Wenger, because if he gets a trophy on the board with this young team it teaches them how to win things.
"And then they can move on to bigger and better things."
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