Andre Villas-Boas has thanked chairman Daniel Levy for investing heavily into a Tottenham Hotspur squad that he now feels can 'challenge with the elite.'

Spurs are poised to lose reigning PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, but Levy has spent over £100m in preparation for the Welshman's exit, bringing in seven new players in total.

The Lillywhites have also broken their transfer record three times this summer, and manager Villas-Boas now believes that the club, even without Bale, are stronger than they were this time last season.

"I gave the chairman my list and he's been massively supportive. A lot of managers would love that. There has been great investment from the club," he told the Daily Star.

"We want to be up there with the elite. The money has been put forward and reinvested back into the team. We knew we could probably lose one of the most influential players in Bale, so our idea was always to make the team stronger than the year before - and for that to happen some heavy investment is required.

"I think that we are on the right track. We have the quality and strength in depth to achieve it this season. We are stronger now than the club that played Arsenal last year. We have more individual quality. I think that we did good things in the market to make us stronger and to give us the ability to rotate."

Tottenham face Arsenal in the North London derby at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.