Arsenal and Spurs.

Two Premier League north London clubs at the either ends of the Seven Sisters Road.

Yet for all intents and purposes the similarities end there.

Most notably in stature, silverware, style, class, and during a global pandemic, empathy and emotional intelligence - not to mention a genuine commitment to helping those who most need it in these troubled times.

In case you missed it this week, Spurs have been brazenly begging for government money – in other words our money – after revealing their 550 non-football staff have had their wages reduced by 20 per cent in a bid to deal with the financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

So, while many are struggling on lower incomes during the new reality of the Covid-19 outbreak, not to mention attempting to stay safe – and, let’s face it staying alive – Spurs have decided to go cap in hand to the government and demand Boris Johnson’s Tory administration pay the wages of non-playing staff.

Bear in mind this is the same club which posted a before tax profit of £87m – the highest in the Premier League and more than twice the total of Champions League winners Liverpool (£42m) ahead of Manchester United’s £27m - as revenue rose 21 per cent to (£80m) to a club record £461m according to the ever-excellent Swiss Ramble.

To underline the staggering cash grab from state coffers, broadcasting revenues rose to £244m on the back of reaching the 2019 Champions League final, while commercial cash reached £135m – up £26m from £109m – with matchday receipts amounting to £82m, a spike of £11m or 15 per cent, from £71m.

Arsenal have the highest standards

We all know The Arsenal have won 13 titles to Spurs two and that, thanks to Sir Henry Norris’ machinations after World War One, the Gunners wrangled their way into the top flight at the expense of the embittered Lilywhites.

A fact that still rankles them now – despite completely ignoring the small detail that Arsenal have managed to stay in the highest division ever since. Consistency of the highest standards, which has eluded everyone else, including Spurs.

Bitter rivalries are defined by dislike – and let’s be frank, hatred – between both factions, and by their very nature are never objective.

So as a fan of nearly four decades – who has experienced what it feels like to be in the maelstrom outside the away end of the old White Hart Lane most north London derbies since the mid 1980s, from bitter lows to winning the league there in 2004 – it is hardly likely that I would ever give our ‘noisy neighbours’ credit for anything.

Yet, as a sports journalist it’s my job to report faithfully and objectively.

So when I reported from the Wembley press box and post-match press conferences after England matches when Harry Kane scored to clinch vital victories for the Three Lions, and his manager Gareth Southgate called him ‘world class’, it was my duty to report what was said – regardless of whether I agreed with him or not.

My point is simply this: I can be impartial when required as a professional writer.

Meaning, as a scribe I won’t simply criticise ‘that lot’ up the road out of a lazy habit as a journo, or ingrained hatred as a fan.

But, believe me, what they have done this week simply beggars belief and is as disgusting as it is shameful.

If Spurs craven actions are not embarrassing enough, contrast with La Liga giants Barcelona - Lionel Messi et al - who have willingly taken a pay cut as well as making additional contributions to ensure non-playing Nou Camp staff receive full wages.

In Serie A, Juventus players and boss Maurizio Sarri have agreed to freeze their pay for four months to help non-playing staff – and the club – survive the coronavirus outbreak.

In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund players have agreed to pay cuts, while other clubs undertake a vast number of community schemes intended to benefit the less well off.

In a statement put out by the Lilywhites earlier this they used the phrase ‘desperately needed’ when justifying why they require taxpayers cash.

Spurs live in a 'moral vacuum'

No wonder many feel football is not only living in a ‘moral vacuum’ but is set to reach a tipping point, when it will be facing a reckoning of its own because of its unashamed greed.

Yet Arsenal fans can feel proud their club has donated substantial amounts of hard cash to local charities while offering facilities and transport to the NHS, while also confirming many in north London won’t go into the red by agreeing to pay non-playing staff full wages until the end of April at the earliest.

Meanwhile, over in N17 – or shall we shall we say the Bahamas for their billionaire owner Joe Lewis - chairman Daniel Levy, who earned a whopping £7m last year don’t forget, inform their hard-pressed employees on a pittance that they must take a pay cut, while demanding the government pay the remainder of their payslips.

While the silence from their cossetted – and it has to be said, massively underperforming footballers – is deafening.

Their lack of response in terms of following the lead of players across the continent in taking a small hit in their astronomical salaries in order to do the right thing and help their beleaguered off-field colleagues only underlines how shocking their club’s begging bowl culture really is.

Questions asked of shameful Spurs

Quite simply, why are Spurs requesting government money to furlough staff? Yet continue to pay millions a week to their millionaire footballers, one of which, Dele Alli, actually had the gall and insensitivity to splash out £250k to buy a Rolls Royce only this week.

And why do their highly-paid squad continue to accept the money, knowing full well their club has insisted the government fund their lesser-paid colleagues?

During a global pandemic in which more than 50,000 people have already lost their lives, with more than 1m confirmed infections, Spurs grubby, morally bankrupt actions make many feel ashamed for them, and the sheer greed of certain other Premier League clubs, Mike Ashley’s Newcastle unsurprisingly among them. The same Ashley whose net worth is said to be just shy of £2bn.

There are many reasons to be proud of the Premier League – but the outrageously indecent greed shown by Spurs this week is not one of them.

As the old line goes people don’t remember exactly what you said but they will remember how you made them feel.

No wonder Arsenal’s actions – as well as every club with a conscience across Europe – put Spurs and their reprehensible ilk to shame.

Follow Layth on Twitter @laythy29