Tottenham vs Arsenal: Jan Vertonghen has no regrets over choosing Spurs over Gunners

Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has revealed that he has no regrets snubbing Arsenal before joining their arch-rivals in 2012. Spurs have turned their campaign around since the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino and finished above the Gunners for the first time under Arsene Wenger last season.

Vertonghen had offers from both north London sides when he chose to leave Ajax in 2012 and admits that his career could have been very different. The 30-year-old has been one of the stalwarts of the Spurs defence in recent years alongside Toby Alderweireld, with the Belgian also returning to contention after a long-term injury.

A win for Spurs will take them seven points adrift of the north London club and all, but end the Gunners' hopes of finishing in the top four. This is the first time that these two clubs will meet at Wembley since 1993 in the FA Cup final which Arsenal won by a one goal margin.

The Gunners have had some great success in Wembley in recent years, winning their last nine games in the stadium, including three FA Cups and three Community Shields. In contrast, Spurs are set to complete almost a decade without a trophy, last winning the League Cup in 2008, a competition in which the Gunners face Manchester City in the final on February 25.

However, despite the lack of silverware, Vertonghen has no regrets for choosing Tottenham and believes that a trophy will come soon.

"It was as close as it can get. My agent went to Arsenal, I wasn't there myself but it was very respectful and in the end I had to make a choice and I chose Spurs," Vertonghen told the Mirror.

"I chose Spurs and I think it's turned out well. I felt I was joining a great team, with great plans and the personal chats I had with people at Spurs were great and I followed my instinct, my gut feeling and that's it.

"I don't want to say it on the basis of one season, maybe two seasons, but the last three - including this one - we've done very well, we're building a great team with the manager and the new stadium is coming up.

"I am very, very confident we will win a trophy very soon. You want to win trophies. I want to play in a cup final. That's what happened at Ajax to be fair. We were a team with a lot of quality that was waiting for a few years for a trophy.

"Sometimes you need that trophy or a big win against at Real Madrid or top six side to realise how good you are. I am convinced that if you win one trophy, then the rest will follow.

"We are going to challenge for both (the FA Cup and Champions League) and then we are trying to finish in the top four, so we have three targets. This is what we are playing for and very confident we can keep it going."