No opportunity to stoke the fires of tribalism is ever missed in the world of who can shout the loudest football analysis.

It is easy for some to claim Tottenham’s season will be a successful one, and more successful than Arsenal’s, should Spurs win the Europa League and end their agonising 17-year trophy drought. Arsenal’s wait for another Premier League triumph goes on, having become bridesmaids once more, this time to Liverpool.

However, taking brash wind-up claims out of it, to say that a team who have already lost 20 league games in one season and are on course to not even break the 40-point barrier – something Spurs have not done since they were relegated from the top flight in 1976-77 – has had a successful campaign is beyond wild.

The team that finished fifth last season and spent £150m to build on that progress has dropped 12 places and is only assured of their Premier League survival because the three promoted clubs were so vastly inferior this term to every other team.

A Europa League victory over another club in astonishing decline, Manchester United, will only bring short-term joy. Arsenal may have finished second again, for the third season in a row, but to remain competing for title after title, even if they miss out every time, is no mean feat, north London banter aside. Trophy or no trophy, Spurs’ season has been an embarrassment that should have already cost Ange Postecoglou his job.

Without Champions League teams dropping down into the Europa League for the latter rounds, the standard of the competition United and Spurs are vying to win to salvage some semblance of credibility this term, dilutes the achievement a great deal.

Given the opposition, United and Spurs should have gotten to the final. Anything else would have been a failure.

Getting past Eintracht Frankfurt was arguably the result of Spurs’ season, a hard-earned, second-leg win the high point of Postecoglou’s reign.

open image in gallery Ange Postecoglou is looking to lead Spurs to the Europa League title ( PA )

Otherwise, the tasks that Spurs have faced on the continent have been more than navigable. The new format gets Uefa those extra few games they feel global audiences want, but the standard of the competition has suffered as a result.

It is not just how many games Spurs are losing, it is, like United, that they are offering no more than a whimper in each meek league defeat. Injuries decimated Postecoglou’s options earlier in the season, especially at the back, so the excuses the brash Australian was coming out with week after week held a certain credence.

While some key figures have remained on the sidelines, Postecoglou has had a strong enough squad to offer significantly more than we have seen.

Arsenal got to a semi-final of the Champions League, going toe-to-toe with arguably Europe’s most exciting side in Paris Saint-Germain, pushing them all the way.

open image in gallery Dominic Solanke and Tottenham teammates celebrate in Bodo ( AP )

Their Premier League title challenge petered out all too soon, with their final points record not giving a true reflection of how, once more, they came mightily close to a first league title in 21 years.

Injuries have had a huge impact on Arsenal’s campaign, too. It was not the defensive absentees that hindered their progress. However, the fact that all of their strike options found themselves in the treatment room at the same time.

And yet, the Gunners should still finish second, having been forced to deploy a defensive midfielder as their furthest player forward at the business end of the season.

There are plenty who believe Arteta’s Emirates race is run. One trophy in six seasons, after spending over £600m on players, is not the sort of record that will land him a spot among the pantheon of football coaching greats.

open image in gallery Tottenham celebrate qualifying for the Europa League final ( Getty )

Yet, one major argument in Arteta’s favour is that the trajectory has remained heading in one direction and one direction only. Jurgen Klopp only won one league title and is viewed as one of the greatest managers to grace our shores due to how he kept on pushing all-conquering Manchester City year on year.

Arsenal are one or two strikers away from a title-winning side, such is the fine margin between success and glorious failure at the top level.

Postecoglou looked for excuses instead of simply getting to grips with the task at hand. Yes, injuries hampered progress for long periods, but Spurs still had enough to at least avoid home defeats to two of the bottom three.

Spurs downed tools months ago, and no matter what glory the Europa League brings, getting out of that rut next season, with potentially Champions League football to consider, will be a monumental task. A disaster of a season may have a happy ending, but that is all it will be.

Would you swap Arsenal’s season for Tottenham’s…?

It may seem an outrageous question but it is one that has got us talking at BBC Sport.

Spurs have had a dreadful domestic campaign but, by lifting the Europa League trophy they also claimed a spot in next season’s Champions League, just like Arsenal.

Given the Gunners are essentially certain to finish second but have won no silverware for the fifth straight season, it seemed a pertinent topic to consider.

Both sides have secured a place in Europe’s biggest competition next season, but as a fan, which journey would you prefer?

Let us know what you think