Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger has been given the authority to shape his squad the way he wants Getty Images

Arsenal director Lord Harris believes that Tottenham Hotspur are still five years behind the Gunners in their development and news trickling in of a brand new stadium will not have any effect on the situation.

Spurs are planning to renovate their stadium to accommodate 56,000 people for which the work has already begun, according to the Mirror.

As a result, the north London club are looking to shift their bases to a different ground for the time being and Arsenal's Emirates stadium was deemed as a possible place where both neighbours can play together in harmony.

However, Harris has refuted talk of a deal happening between the two clubs and insisted that the rivalry makes the ground-sharing prospect a complete no-go, as either team winning the league would have massive repercussions on the security of the people.

"With the supporters being so different, I think it would be impossible to share a ground. If either Arsenal or Tottenham won the league, the other team would be going bloody mad. I don't think that could work. Tottenham are probably five years behind us now with their development. I don't think we're five years behind Real Madrid," Lord Harris said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

The director also went on to compare both clubs' transfer policy, stating that the Gunners are keen to cultivate benefits from their fruitful youth academy as opposed to the spending done by Tottenham following the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.

The transfers failed to get them back in the top four and Harris believes that you do not need several changes each year to challenge for the title.

"It's not all about spending. If you look at Tottenham, they sold a player for £80m and spent £110m and ended up worse off. Generally, Arsene doesn't think you should fetch more than three first-team players in one season because it takes too long for them to link up. He knows how to produce players, too - we've got four or five very good youngsters who are coming through," he concluded.